Bronny James’ future in basketball has been a major talking point over the past few weeks. While he was projected to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, there have been talks about him potentially returning to the USC Trojans for another year.
In fact, ESPN removed him from their 2024 mock draft altogether and has Bronny in the 2025 Draft instead. While the eldest son of LeBron James has yet to make a decision on his future, fans and experts alike are split on what he should do.
NBA Exec Gives Strong Advice for USC Trojans’ Bronny James
For what it’s worth, however, one NFL executive shared their belief that Bronny will be better off returning to college to further hone his skills.
The anonymous exec who spoke to Jeremy Woo of ESPN claimed that the eldest of the James brood could use further polishing of his skills to better prepare him for the NBA.
Not to mention that with Bronny missing the start of the season after his health scare due to a cardiac arrest, the exec shared that it only makes sense for the youngster to really go back and work on his game after playing “catch-up” year long.
“I don’t know if he’s going to come back [to school]. We’d recommend he go back, just because this season didn’t get off on the right foot,” the exec explained.
“He was behind due to the cardiac episode, being away from the team, the rehab, etc. So I think going back and continuing to fine-tune these skills [would help], because the offseason is when you really develop stuff. College coaches are trying to win games [during the season]. With the time he lost, he was trying to play catch-up all year. But I don’t know what Klutch is going to advise him to do.”
Sure enough, there’s no lies told there. While Bronny has shown flashes of brilliance, particularly on the defensive end, the fact of the matter is he really didn’t have much opportunity to develop and show what he got after his health battles.
USC Trojans’ Bronny James Not Yet Ready for NBA?
The unnamed exec also had some rather harsh but valid assessment of Bronny James’ play with the USC Trojans. While previous mock drafts had him going in the first round and even a potential lottery pick, the said executive doesn’t share the same thoughts,
The exec then went on to discuss the problem with Bronny and what challenges he could face in the NBA:
“I’ll be honest, we didn’t have huge expectations for [Bronny] heading into the season. I know some mocks had him as a top-20 pick, but our group didn’t view him as a player of that caliber. I don’t know exactly what his role is going to be, and I think it’s hard to project him in a half-court setting,” the exec further.
“He doesn’t have great separation off the bounce, he’s not a really good perimeter shooter, so it’s going to be tough to unlock some of the creation, because I don’t think teams are going to get up on him defensively. They’ll probably allow him some space [until he proves it]. I think it’s going to be more of a defensive bet, and it’s more of a wing profile. I think he’ll struggle with some of the quicker guards, he dies on some screens, it’s a work in progress.”
Bronny’s physique is his strong point. He has the physical tools to be an NBA player, but the problem is he still has a lot to learn skills-wise. The exec noted that “from a physicality point of view, he’s ready.” However, they added that Bronny “could use more time in the gym developing.”
“Another year at USC might put him in a position to have a more successful career than coming out now. But you have to be ready, because I’ll be surprised if he isn’t in the draft. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out because there’s so much smoke around it,” the exec added.
It remains to be seen what Bronny James will do, but sure enough, plenty of eyes will be on him.
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