Who will draft Bronny James? Odds, prediction

The Los Angeles Lakers are against the ropes in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. They are in Denver for a second straight elimination game after losing their first three games of the opening round. While that’s is the immediate concern for LA fans, the more pressing issue will comes this offseason.

Where will Bronny land?

If the Lakers lose to the Nuggets in Game 5, it could be the last time we ever see LeBron in Lakers’ purple and gold. LeBron technically has one more year on his deal but has a player option to leave LA and explore the free agent market. If he stays in the City of Angels, he will receive $51.4 million next year, but that may not be enough to keep him.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer would be entering his 22nd season, and turn 40 years old during in December of next year. While retirement is an option, he has stated publicly that he wants to team up with his son, Bronny, in the NBA. That creates an interesting proposition for this year’s NBA Draft, which Bronny declared for at the beginning of this month.

Bronny just finished his freshman year at the University of Southern California where he averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 assists. While those aren’t exactly lottery pick numbers, we should remember that Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest in the preseason of his first campaign as a Trojan. He was given the green light to play, and averaged 21 minutes per game.

LA the favorite

While LeBron’s oldest son may not be the top talent on the draft board this spring, he will be a highly prized pick considering LeBron’s wish to play with Bronny. Whoever takes their chance on Bronny will most likely land LeBron, and that is one of the reasons this year’s selection show is going to be so interesting.

LeBron has until June 29th to decide what he wants to do with his future. The NBA Draft, consequently will take place on June 27th so The King will know exactly where his son ends up, if any team decided to take him.

Right now the Lakers are the out and out favorites to land Bronny at +350 odds. While their draft position hasn’t been set in stone, they are Vegas’ pick to take a chance Bronny, but there could be plenty of other teams tempted to take Bronny if it means getting his dad. Philadelphia is +900, and so too are the Knicks, but neither of them are going to have lottery picks barring some sort of trade.

Detroit and Washington were the worst teams in the league this season, and both have the best percentage (14%) at landing the top pick in the draft in the NBA Lottery which will be held on May 12th. The only team with a realistic shot of getting the top pick in the draft and are on the list of Bronny candidates, are the San Antonio Spurs who have a 10.5% chance of being called first in the Lottery.

The Lakers main focus will be centered on staying alive in the playoffs, but as soon as their playoff run ends, all of their efforts will be centered around keeping LeBron and drafting Bronny. There has been very little talk in the Los Angeles front offices about the draft, but once the offseason comes, LeBron and Bronny are likely to be priority number one.