"There are no downsides" - Rich Paul provides optimistic take on Bronny James' decision to play in NBA
While Bronny James has attracted a huge crowd of doubters, his agent Rich Paul remains positive that he will have a successful career. So far, Bronny has struggled. He had an underwhelming Summer League and in the Los Angeles Lakers' first two preseason games thus far, he has not been great.
The struggles that he's had up to this point could cause some to wonder if he should have stayed in college. Paul, Klutch Sports' CEO, is sure that Bronny made the right decision to become a professional.
He shared these thoughts in an interview with ESPN's Baxter Holmes. Holmes wrote that, according to Paul, there are "no downsides" to him entering the NBA.
"There's only pros," Paul told Holmes. "He's the first player to have only pros."
After his first season at USC, Bronny James declared for the NBA Draft but also kept his options open by entering the NCAA's transfer portal.
Some people argued that he should stay in college for at least one more year to develop his game further before entering the NBA. Initially, his draft projections were grim, with some scouts saying that he could go undrafted.
However, his stock climbed after impressing scouts at the Draft Combine. In fact, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said in an article that the Golden State Warriors admired Bronny's skills and considered taking him with the 52nd pick.
Perhaps there were other teams that wanted to draft Bronny after his impressive Draft Combine performance. However, just like the Warriors, they likely chose not to based on comments made by Rich Paul on what would happen if a team other than the Lakers selected him.
What did Rich Paul tell other teams regarding Bronny James ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft?
LeBron James had a player option for the 2024-25 season which meant he held all the cards in his hands. If he wanted to become a free agent this past summer, he could have.
This, along with the fact that his son Bronny was in the NBA Draft, caused some whispers around the league. Everyone knew that LeBron wanted to play with his son before retiring. This caused rumors that the four-time MVP could leave the Lakers in free agency and join whichever team drafted his son.
However, a warning from Rich Paul likely prevented this scenario. According to Bob Myers, Paul called teams to tell them that if they took Bronny, he would go play in Australia.
The Lakers wanted to keep LeBron and they also wanted to make him happy. To do so, they honored his wish of getting to play with his son before he retired.
However, this might not have happened without some help from Rich Paul.
Also read: JJ Redick breaks down decision to play LeBron James and Bronny James together in 2nd quarter