USC Basketball: Bill Simmons Speculates On Draft Fate Of Bronny James

What does The Ringer's head honcho think will happen to USC's combo guard?

Feb 29, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; USC Trojans guard Bronny James (6) controls the ball. / James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

USC Trojans reserve combo guard Bronny James may have posted a disappointing freshman season in 2023-24 for the 15-18 Cardinal and Gold, but that didn't stop him from declaring for the NBA draft (and entering the NCAA transfer portal as he maintains his college eligibility), along with starrier Trojans guards Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis.

Although his on-court production may not peg him from draft glory per se (he averaged 4.8 points on .366/.267/.676 shooting splits, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists), his pedigree as the son of one of the greatest basketball players ever, current Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James, could help him secure gainful pro employment at the NBA level nevertheless.

During a recent episode of his podcast The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer's Bill Simmons speculated (along with The Ringer colleague Ryen Russillo) that Bronny James will, in fact, get selected in this summer's NBA draft, after all.

"Will a team draft Bronny James to go after LeBron?" Simmons wondered. "This was the subject of a lot of texts this week. Bronny did not have a good freshman season. That is an understatement. He was not one of the closing five guys on a USC team that I think finished under .500 and was in a bad conference and was just not good a basketball team. It's hard to fathom that he'd be one of the 58 players drafted... and yet, I do wonder if somebody in that 38-58 range will draft him as a way to get LeBron to sign for like a free agent midlevel exception, something like that, thinking, 'These picks after pick 35 [are] a f---ing crapshoot anyway. Let's just spend one here, and maybe LeBron will want to play with his son, maybe we can pull him in.'"

"And I'd think it would have to be a contender," Simmons said. "I think he's going to get drafted, even if he is not one of the best 58 guys in the draft."

"Yeah, the real conversation is how high will a team select him without assurances?" Russillo wondered in return. "And I still don't think [LeBron] wants to leave LA. I think the next chapter for LeBron is that he still would need to be in LA... If you're telling me, hey, would a second round team not know and say, 'Want to just give it a shot?' Yeah absolutely, I think he could get drafted, especially with teams that have multiple second round picks..."

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