LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul has weighed in on the possibility of James playing alongside his son Bronny in the NBA.
Paul poured cold water on the idea, suggesting that the fates of LeBron and Bronny are not linked in any way. Paul pointed out that if LeBron re-signing with the Lakers was contingent on them drafting Bronny, he would put pressure on the team to select Bronny with the No. 17 pick.
“LeBron is off this idea of having to play with Bronny,” Paul told Jonathan Givony of ESPN on Wednesday. “If he does, he does. But if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, he (LeBron) will resign. If that was the case, I would force them to take him at 17. We don’t need leverage. The Lakers can draft Bronny, and LeBron doesn’t resign. LeBron is also not going to Phoenix for a minimum deal. We can squash that now.”
Paul also downplayed Bronny’s lack of workouts being meaningful, arguing that he has taken a similar approach with other clients. Paul said his strategy was to only have Bronny work out for teams that are seriously interested in him.
For quite some time, it has been a lingering story that any team that drafted Bronny might have a better chance of getting LeBron to come play for them. That certainly seems to have faded, with reports earlier in the offseason leaning that way as well.
Paul may be playing for leverage in his public quotes, too. However, it does sound like he genuinely has no vested interest in getting the James family to team up.
