LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Lakers have the 17th choice in Wednesday’s first round of the NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York while the Clippers dealt their pick in the 2019 trade they acquired Paul George.
Each of the six available mock drafts from sites NBA.com uses for its consensus mock draft predicted LeBron James’ 19-year-old son Bronny will be selected by the Lakers in Thursday’s second round with the 55th overall pick.
“James is far from a finished product, but proved he belonged in this draft class as a prospect at the draft combine, where he shot the ball well and showed more scoring potential in the lane with his floater,” Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports wrote.
James only participated in workouts for the Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
“This is nothing new,” Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who serves as agent for Bronny and LeBron James, told ESPN last week “The goal is to find a team that values your guy and try to push him to get there.
“It’s important to understand the context and realize that this has always been the strategy with many of my clients throughout the years, especially those in need of development like Bronny. My stuff is by design.”
Phoenix has one choice in the two-round draft — the 22nd selection in the first round. The Suns dealt their own second-round choice in 2023 to the Washington Wizards in a trade they acquired Bradley Beal and forfeited a second-round choice they acquired from the Orlando Magic in 2023 after the league found they engaged in free-agency discussions involving Drew Eubanks prior to the permitted date.
The younger James’ lone season at USC was limited to 490 minutes over 25 games with six starts. He missed the first eight games of the season while recovering from a medical procedure to treat a congenital heart defect.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound guard averaged 4.8 points per game.
There six available mock drafts have six predictions for the Lakers’ first-round choice.
ESPN’s prediction was Purdue center Zach Edney, the two-time Wooden Award winner. The Athletic’s prediction was Colorado forward Tristan da Silva. CBS Sports’ prediction was Duke point guard Jared McCain.
The USA Wednesday-operated For the Win predicted Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II. Yahoo Sports’ prediction was Miami guard-forward Kyshawn George. The Ringer’s prediction was Indiana center Kel’el Ware.
This is the second consecutive year the Lakers have had the No. 17 choice. They selected Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who averaged 1.6 points in 21 games off the bench as a rookie for the Lakers and underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure in March.
The Miami Heat with the next pick chose UCLA guard-forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who averaged 11.9 points in 75 games with the Heat, including 20 starts.
The Clippers have one second-round choice, the 46th overall pick, acquired in a 2023 trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. They traded their natural pick, the 55th overall, to the Lakers as part of a four-team trade in 2023.
The first round is set to begin shortly after 5 p.m. and will be televised by ABC and ESPN. Thursday’s second round will begin shortly after 1 p.m. and be televised by ESPN.
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