NBA (DR) / BallIsLife (DR)
After a high-flying career on the NBA floors, LeBron James has one last goal: to evolve there alongside his eldest son Bronny. However, an old move on his initiative now comes back to haunt him in this case so dear to him.
Long launched in pursuit of Michael Jordan in the historical rankings, it seems today no longer to attach as much importance to this quest. LeBron James of course remains a great competitor thirsty for titles, but knows that the end of his career is approaching, and that the opportunities to expand his record are becoming rare. Therefore, his ultimate goal does not borrow a sporting aspect, but rather a family one.
LeBron James deprived of a duet with Bronny… by his fault?
As he has already announced in recent months, LeBron will seek by 2024 to wear the same colors as his eldest, Bronny, called to evolve one day in the league. This may also have an impact on the big meeting that awaits him in the next few hours. This father-son reunion could anyway take place at the Lakers, as Joe Vardon reminds us in the columns of The Athletic :
(Rich) Paul, James’ agent and one of the most powerful representatives in the NBA landscape, can help in this situation by warning other teams not to draft Bronny before the Lakers can select him in the second round. This, if Bronny were to become available. What if he was better than that, and deserved to be drafted in the first round? The Lakers should then commit to doing what it takes to select LeBron’s son, even if it means trading someone or something to recoup a 2024 first-round pick.
If they want the King to retire in LA, and honor him the Kobe Bryant way, the Purple & Gold leaders therefore know what they have to do. They will thus have the mission to get their hands on Bronny during the 2024 Draft, but will have to fight to do so. Something to regret not having a first-round choice, which would have made their task much easier. They can therefore attack… LBJ, directly involved in the loss of this pick!
I think LeBron’s family situation will weigh heavily on his future, and the most obvious move for him is to stay at the Lakers. But then I saw who owns the 2024 Lakers pick, and why (the Davis trade, remember?). The trade that made LeBron a champion in LA is now an obstacle, albeit a small one, to achieving his ultimate NBA goal: playing on the same team as his son.
As a reminder, a year after his arrival in the franchise, LeBron had convinced his superiors to go all-in to recruit Anthony Davis. A choice he did not regret a few months later, when he lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy with the Unibrow. Now, however, he can blame himself, since it deprives his team of a major option to draft Bronny in two years!
By pushing for the arrival of Anthony Davis at the Lakers, LeBron James had no idea that this would impact his potential reunion with Bronny in the NBA. It is therefore he who could indirectly provoke his reluctant departure from Los Angeles to join his son!