During this last stage of his career, much has been made about the possibility of LeBron James joining forces with his son, Bronny, on the Los Angeles Lakers next season. Since James’ happiness still weighs heavily on the franchise, the thinking around the league is that the Lakers will consider drafting his son in order to appease the 4x champion.
“The Lakers, per the high-ranking team source, are willing to explore the notion of adding Bronny James next season,” wrote Jovan Buha. “This stance, the source said, is rooted in the reality that James’ happiness truly matters to the organization.”
Following an uneventful deadline for the Lakers, there was doubt that the team was still operating on LeBron James’ timeline. At 39 years old, the end is closer than the beginning for LeBron and it’s no secret that he aims to play with his firstborn son before he retires for good.
Fortunately, Bronny will be eligible for the NBA draft in a few months and his potential landing spot has become a subject of frequent conversation in the NBA community. While current projections have James Jr. going in the mid to late first round, he could go higher if a team decides to make a run for LeBron.
The Lakers are sure to be involved in the process soon enough and they will likely be looking to draft Bronny before any other team gets the chance. According to LeBron, his son is ready to help them win right now and they might still be able to compete for a title if they add him alongside some other pieces in the upcoming offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers Have Big Plans This Summer
The Lakers are looking better this season after a sluggish start. Between the resurgence of D’Angelo Russell and the defensive dominance of Anthony Davis, the Lakers have managed to stay afloat despite inconsistency from the supporting cast and some signs of aging from LeBron. 7-3 in their last 10 games, the Lakers are up to 9th in the Western Conference and are three games above 500.
This summer, Rob Pelinka has plans to upgrade in several areas, but especially the backcourt, where they’ve been looking to add a third star for quite some time now. Potential targets include Dejounte Murray, Kyrie Irving, and Donovan Mitchell, among others but the front office could consider anyone who has the potential to fulfill a star role in the backcourt.
Ranked 18th in offensive rating, the Lakers just aren’t good enough offensively to hang with the elites in the West and they going to struggle to win four playoff rounds as presently constructed. But if they retain LeBron this summer, and make some more tweaks to the rotation (that may or may not include Bronny), it could set the Lakers in the right direction to make some noise in the Western Conference.
LeBron James is the key to everything for the Lakers, and the timeline of the rest of his career will determine how the future looks for the Purple and Gold. As long as he’s playing like he has been this season (24.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game), the Lakers stand a chance against anyone on any given night.
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