Bronny James appears all set to have his name called during the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft, but Rashad McCants thinks we won’t see him on an NBA court for quite some time. On a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, McCants, who was the 14th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, stated James won’t get to play in his first two seasons.
Rashad McCants: “He not gonna play the first two years, it’s cool…”
Brandon Jennings: “Wait, what do you mean not gonna play… You don’t think he’s gonna touch the NBA court at all?
Rashad McCants: “Who? Bronny?”
Brandon Jennings: “Yeah, his first year.”
Rashad McCants: “Nah.”
Rashad McCants: “[Bronny James] is not going play the first two years. It’s cool.”
Brandon Jennings: “You don’t think he’s gone touch the NBA court at all?… His first year?”
Rashad: “Nah.” 👀
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/tTZwQzDKq0
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 24, 2024
McCants brought up Emoni Bates as an example when he got some pushback. The 39-year-old stated that Bates is far better than James but barely got any game time in his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers after being selected with the 49th pick. He only featured in 15 games in 2023-24 and averaged just 8.9 minutes per game in them.
I think Bronny will get some time on the court over the course of his first two years, but he won’t be playing any meaningful minutes. The 19-year-old averaged just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game as a freshman for USC and just isn’t ready to play any kind of significant role in the NBA.
It is undoubtedly going to take James some time to develop his game to the point where he can actually contribute in a positive manner on the court. For that, he also has to go to a team that has a plan in place, for his development. I hope for his sake, that he lands at the right destination.
NBA Draft Expert Thinks Bronny James Is At Least 2 Years Away From Being Ready For The NBA
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has released his final 2024 NBA Draft Big Board and he had Bronny at No. 72. Vecenie was rather blunt when it came to his final summary regarding James as a prospect.
“We need to be upfront about this: We would not be talking about James as an NBA prospect if not for his father,” Vecenie wrote. “He is nowhere near ready for the NBA. He’s at least two years away if every single thing goes right with his development in the next couple of seasons.
“For him to get the development he needs on the ball and to iron out his consistency as a shooter, he must spend the next two years in the G League,” Vecenie continued. “To me, that’s not a worthwhile investment given that his upside is something in the ballpark of a rotational 3-and-D guard. That upside is littered with potential landmines.
“I couldn’t rank him outside of the top 75 on my board because he’s young, athletic and clearly has excellent basketball IQ in addition to a great motor on the defensive end at 19,” Vecenie added. “If this goes right, you can see an outcome that is similar to Devin Carter.
“Still, he is outside of the range of players whom I have two-way grades on in this class,” Vecenie stated. I have an Exhibit 10 grade on Bronny and think he would have been much better served heading back to school to get the reps he needs offensively.”
There is indeed a good chance we wouldn’t have been talking about Bronny at all if LeBron James wasn’t his father, but it is what it is. I also think that staying at least another year in college would have done Bronny a lot of good. It just seems as if the whole process has been rushed and I just hope it doesn’t end up hurting his career in any way.
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