Bronny James is leaving USC and will enter the transfer portal. He also declared for the NBA Draft.
Yes, the eldest son of LeBron James did both of those things at the same time.
We don’t know what the future holds. Nor does he. All we know is that Bronny is not going to play for new head coach Eric Musselman or the Trojans next year and will transfer out of Los Angeles if he is not drafted by his father’s team.
Timing of this announcement is rather interesting. It comes less than a week after his dad said that he does not have much time left in the league. Perhaps there is a correlation.
LeBron has long said that he wants to play with Bronny before retirement. Next season would be his first opportunity to do so, if his son gets drafted by the Lakers. That “if” is the key word.
Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game during his freshman season of college basketball at USC. He played only 25 games after working back from a scary cardiac arrest incident during summer workouts.
The numbers would indicate that he is not ready for the next level. Thus, if there is not enough interest from NBA organizations, Bronny will return to college next year.
Oregon was in the mix during his initial recruitment. The James family are big supporters of Ohio State. LeBron’s high school teammate is now the head coach at Duquesne. Andy Enfield, who recruited him to USC, is now at SMU. Other potential suitors might include Duke, Pepperdine or Kentucky. It’s wide open.
What is next for Bronny James is entirely unknown. He and his agent, Rich Paul, are trying to figure it all out at this stage in the process.
The NBA Draft will take place on June 26 and 27. Should Bronny not hear his name called, a commitment will likely follow shortly thereafter so he can get with his new college program over the summer.