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Despite the fact that he’s now just months away from turning 40 years old, LeBron James has such a stranglehold on the Los Angeles Lakers that they’re still planning their future around him.
While LeBron is still performing on an elite level, the commitment that the Lakers are showing to him are bordering on overzealous as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that one of the reasons that UConn head coach Dan Hurley is the Lakers’ top target for the job is because of what it would mean for Bronny James.
Bronny James, who spent one year at the University of Southern California and averaged 4.8 points per game, is not currently employed by the Los Angeles Lakers.
“As for the Lakers’ stars, LeBron James has been impressed with Hurley’s sophisticated offensive actions. Assuming James returns to L.A. in free agency, the possibility of using the 55th overall pick in this month’s NBA draft on USC freshman guard Bronny James makes Hurley an even more intriguing candidate,” Woj reports.
“If that happens, James gets a chance to play with his son and the benefit of Hurley and his staff becoming responsible for Bronny’s pro-development.” [via ESPN]
Although rumors earlier this month indicated that the Lakers were zeroing in on LeBron’s Mind the Game podcast co-host J.J. Reddick, Woj says that Hurley as been at the top of the Lakers’ list since the beginning of the hiring process.
LeBron is certainly a fan of Hurley’s, as a tweet from April praised him and his UConn staff for their offensive schemes.
“He’s so DAMN GOOD!!! Along with his staff. Super creative with their O! Love it,” James said of Hurley.
He’s so DAMN GOOD!!! Along with his staff. Super creative with their O! Love it
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 19, 2024
Despite Bronny currently being somewhere between the 50th and 60th highest-rated prospect in the draft — and there are only 58 picks in the NBA Draft — his being selected when the draft is held on June 26 is a virtual certainty. The Lakers currently own the 17th and 55th picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.
What makes the situation even more complicated for the Lakers is that just three days after the draft is the deadline for LeBron to accept or decline his $51.4 million player option, with many expecting him to decline so he can hit the open market and sign a new, more lucrative deal with Los Angeles. In short: LeBron can basically threaten to walk away if they don’t draft Bronny.