The Phoenix Suns reportedly held their pre-draft workout with Bronny James yesterday, according to AZ Central’s Duane Rankin.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!James is reportedly only working out for the Los Angeles Lakers and Suns after passing on all other pre-draft workouts, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Suns only hold the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s draft, while the Lakers have the No. 17 and No. 55 overall picks. If L.A. wants to wait to draft James, the money difference between the No. 22 pick and the No. 55 pick gives Phoenix a lot of leverage in this situation.
James is ranked as the 52nd best prospect in the draft by ESPN out of 100 players. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 36.6/26.7/67.6 shooting splits in 25 games in his lone season at USC last year.
Rankin adds that James had a strong workout with Phoenix.
“The son of LeBron James had a strong workout for the Suns, who put the players through a variety of drills with a focus on shooting, sources said.” – Duane Rankin
Two other players among a handful had “standout” workouts for Phoenix alongside James yesterday: Villanova guard Mark Armstrong and West Virginia guard RaeQuan Battle, Rankin wrote.
Armstrong and Battle are not ranked in ESPN’s top-100 of best available prospects. Of the now eight players that have been confirmed to work out with the Suns, none of them are ranked in the top-30 by ESPN.
These don’t really seem like prospects for the 22nd pick.
According the ESPN’s Top 100:
Jaylon Tyson, #33
Bronny James, #52
Trentyn Flowers, #61
Jaylin Williams, #92
Fardaws Aimaq, N/A
Tristan Enaruna, N/AUDFAs? Valley Suns recruits? Trading back?
What are the Suns cooking? https://t.co/QIlnIFuijj
— Suns Are Better (@SunsAreBetter) June 5, 2024
The Suns have not officially announced any pre-draft workouts. These other names–Cal PF Fardaws Aimaq, Cleveland State SF Tristan Enaruna, Adelaide 36ers SF Trentyn Flowers, Cal SF Jaylon Tyson and Auburn PF Jaylin Williams–either came from the prospects themselves, agencies or colleges that have confirmed workouts with the Suns.
With that being said, there are probably several other workouts that have not been confirmed as most of these players do not address a glaring position of need for the Suns and seem to be more targeted for either trading back, building up their new G League team or signing as undreated free agents.
It is also unclear if the Suns want to keep the No. 22 overall pick or want to trade it.
Suns among a ‘couple’ of teams Bronny James will work out for
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
