Nov 24, 2023; La Jolla, California, USA; USC Trojans guard Bronny James (6) warms up before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at LionTree Arena. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Many people still believe the Los Angeles Lakers will seek to draft Bronny James, partly out of a desire to make LeBron happy. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, however, believes one Western Conference rival might try to wreck those plans.
Smith suggested on Tuesday that the Dallas Mavericks might try to draft Bronny in an effort to tempt LeBron into leaving the Lakers. Smith added that the presence of Kyrie Irving might make playing in Dallas even more attractive from LeBron’s perspective.
A different team is interested in jumping the Lakers to draft Bronny pic.twitter.com/Gv0eLjyo80
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 14, 2024
“Bronny James might not make it to the Lakers’ second-round pick because of a team like the Dallas Mavericks could position themselves to get him in the second round,” Smith speculated. “They’ll take him because LeBron said he wants to go where his son goes. If you’re the Dallas Mavericks and you’ve got Kyrie and you’ve got Luka (Doncic) and LeBron James is willing to come to Big D, that might be the first time something’s more popular than the Cowboys.”
If the Mavericks wanted to hatch a plan like this, they would likely need to trade into at least the second round. Their only pick in the entire draft is the 58th and final selection, and it is safe to say they probably would not get a shot at Bronny without getting another pick.
James has made some people believe playing with Irving is something he would like to do again. However, there has also been some chatter that playing alongside Bronny may not be as big a priority to him as he has previously made it seem. Smith’s scenario still seems very far-fetched for a lot of reasons, but perhaps it bears watching.
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