The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is under three hours away, and the Phoenix Suns are still said to have interest in drafting Bronny James.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!NBA insider Marc Stein reported today that the Suns maintain interest in James heading into tonight.
“The Suns, by the way, continue to be mentioned as a team with interest in drafting Bronny James, who is projected as a second-round selection in Thursday’s portion of the draft.” – Marc Stein
The Phoenix Suns are still interested in Bronny James and could select him in the draft, per @TheSteinLine
“The Suns, by the way, continue to be mentioned as a team with interest in drafting Bronny James, who is projected as a second-round selection in Thursday's portion of the… pic.twitter.com/01QPDQmKLy
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 26, 2024
James, the son of LeBron, is ranked as the 55th-best prospect on ESPN’s latest big board ahead of the draft. He has reportedly worked out for the Suns twice ahead of the draft. The only other team Bronny worked out for was his father’s Los Angeles Lakers.
Phoenix currently holds the No. 22 overall pick.
It had been suspected that the Suns were looking to draft Bronny in hopes of landing LeBron. However, LeBron would have to forgo around $50 million with the Lakers and sign with Phoenix for a $3-4 million veteran-minimum deal.
The James’ agent, Rich Paul, said this wasn’t happening in an interview with ESPN last week: “LeBron is also not going to Phoenix for a minimum deal. We can squash that now.”
Now, it appears that the Suns have real interest in Bronny, who 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.
There are reportedly at least five candidates the Suns are considering at 22, but multiple reports suggest Phoenix could trade down. The team could then decide to draft Bronny in the second round, which would make more sense. The Lakers hold the No. 17 and No. 55 picks, so unless another team is showing significant interest, Phoenix would just have to draft ahead of the 55th pick.
Check out more details on the Suns’ draft and five prospects we like leading up to the draft by clicking here.
What to do at pick 22: Top 5 prospects the Suns should consider
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
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
