A recent report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania has associated the Toronto Raptors with LeBron James’ son Bronny.
REPORT: The Raptors are among the teams scouting Bronny James ahead of the draft, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/bcfQxMr4t1
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 18, 2024
If the Raptors don’t make any trades between now and the 2024 NBA Draft, they could have up to three picks in the upcoming draft, including as many as two first-round selections.
Toronto’s lone second-round pick also projects to be in the early part of the round, considering the team owns the Detroit Pistons’ pick. The Pistons hold the worst record in the entire league right now at 8-46, though they are just one game back of the Washington Wizards for the No. 14 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Los Angeles Lakers are another team that has been connected to the younger James recently. The team is reportedly open to acquiring him in order to make the elder James happy.
The younger James didn’t do much to raise his draft stock in the University of Southern California’s recent loss to the University of Colorado Boulder. Granted, he did log just 14 minutes of playing time, but the 19-year-old ended up with a mere two points, two assists and one rebound while shooting 1-of-2 from the field.
It makes sense that the Raptors are reportedly scouting the younger James, considering that the team is entering a new chapter and would likely love to add as much young talent as possible.
Over 50 games of the 2023-24 regular season are in the books for the Raptors, and they have looked like one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. At 19-36, the Raptors own a better record than just three other teams in the conference: the Pistons, Wizards and Charlotte Hornets.
One of the few bright spots for the team this season has been the play of Scottie Barnes, who will participate in the All-Star Game on Sunday. The 22-year-old is averaging 20.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in his third NBA season while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from deep.
