USC Basketball: LeBron James Indicates How Freshman Bronny Is Approaching NBA Draft

The first-year combo guard has had an underwhelming start.

USC Trojans combo guard Bronny James, a four-star recruit coming out of Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, was initially expected to be a potential one-and-done college athlete.

Following what's been a somewhat modest run with the 10-16 Cardinal and Gold thus far, James has slid off most mock draft boards (both rounds). His jumper is just not there, although he's had some nice passing moments and chipped in some solid defense.

Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Bronny's Los Angeles Lakers All-Star combo forward dad, LeBron James, has weighed in now on how the 19-year-old will handle his potential NBA future.

“It’s up to him, it’s up to the kid,” LeBron said. “We’re going to go through the whole process. He’s still in season now. He has the Pac-12 Tournament coming up… We’re going to weigh all options and we’re going to let the kid make the decision.”

During his first collegiate season thus far (he's played in 18 contests, mostly off the bench), the 6'4" guard is averaging a meager 5.7 points on an abysmal .365/.275/.621 shooting splits, 2.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.8 steals a night. He's a raw if intriguing prospect, and could use some more NCAA season with Andy Enfield and co. But will he want to expedite his leap to the pros, even if it means spending a year or two as an NBA G League affiliate player or perhaps a two-way signing?