Popular college hoops analyst calls Lebron James' son Bronny James a "lousy basketball player" amid 2024 NBA Draft decision
Latest reports suggest the Los Angeles Lakers are open to drafting LeBron James' son, Bronny James, in the 2024 NBA draft in a bid to keep the four-time NBA MVP in the franchise. This is coming after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Denver Nuggets.
The possibility of Bronny getting drafted despite his underwhelming freshman season at USC has led to some wild reactions from host and broadcaster Craig Carton. Speaking on “The Carton Show,” the analyst said that Bronny is a poor basketball player whose talent doesn't meet NBA standards.
"You don't have to draft him, no one else is gonna draft him, sign him as a free agent if you want to," Carton said. "He's a lousy basketball player. He's not an NBA talent.
"He shouldn't have been on the McDonald's All-American team, they passed over other kids who deserved that spot because LeBron picked up the phone as many dads would."
Craig Carton doesn’t have a problem with Bronny James in the NBA
While he believes Bronny James isn't of NBA caliber yet, Craig Carton doesn't have a problem seeing him in the league. However, it shouldn't be through the draft but as an undrafted free agent.
Carton respects what LeBron James is trying for his son, but he believes that's what a father should do. Nonetheless, he thinks Bronny’s performance at USC was too underwhelming to be considered for the draft.
"Nepotism is not a problem for me," Carton said. "If you can do right by your kids, it's our job as dads. In this case, Bronny James is not an NBA player. He was one of the worst players on a bad USC team. So that didn't run out the way they wanted."
Craig Carton believes the best option is to transfer
Speaking on his show, Craig Carton believes the best decision for Bronny James is to return to college basketball for another season, but not at USC. He said he would have transferred to play in a system that fit if he had been in the point guard’s shoes.
"I'm going to transfer because I didn't get to play the system, I need to play and maybe I need to go pro," Carton said. "They don't need to draft him. Nobody's going to draft Bronny James. He can join the Lakers as he wants, as a free agent. I get it you want to play with your son, that would be a great thing to do as a dad."
It's always been LeBron James' dream to play alongside his son on the same NBA team. This dream is not far away from becoming a reality after Bronny James declared for the draft early in April. It is yet to be seen which team they'll both get to play on in the next NBA season.