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Draymond Green believes in good friend LeBron James' son Bronny James' prospects as an NBA player. There's been plenty of chatter about Bronny's ceiling after he declared for the 2024 draft a few days ago. However, he's also maintained his college eligibility while deciding to enter the transfer portal after an underwhelming season at USC.
Not many consider Bronny NBA-ready after an underwhelming freshman year at USC. However, some, including Warriors star Draymond Green, think he could be better in the NBA than in college because of his 3-and-D skillset.
"Bronny will 100% be a successful player in the NBA ... He knows how to work," Green said on his podcast (The Draymond Green Show).
"At worst he's an NBA level defender, who can knock a shot down. So at worst, he's a 3-and-D guy. Great, we go those all over the NBA. So 3 and defense guys are definitely valued. Bronny got a really good shot."
Green did note that Bronny had a subpar shooting season at USC. Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his freshman season, shooting a measly 36.6%, 26.7% from 3 and 67.6% from the charity stripe in 25 games, including six starts.
However, Green believes Bronny has the mechanics to improve his shot over time.
"His mechanics are great, he's always shot the ball great Bunch of different factors into why he didn't shoot the ball well this year, I'm not going to overreact to that," Green said.
Bronny James played 19.4 minutes a game after entering the season with a health scare. He suffered a cardiac arrest last July. However, Bronny fortunately recovered from it and was able to play. However, that may have hindered his rhythm entering his college debut. USC was also one of the worst teams this season, boasting an 8-12 record, good for ninth in the Pac-12 conference.
Anonymous GM's contradict Draymond Green's breakdown on Bronny James' NBA prospects
Draymond Green has provided one of the most encouraging breakdowns about Bronny James' NBA prospects than most people in league circles. However, several anonymous NBA GMs recently interviewed by The Ringer were entirely against Bronny playing in the league this year.
“He should go back to school to develop at his own pace or he risks getting lost in the shuffle, whether or not he's playing with his dad," one GM said.
“There are probably three rounds’ worth of prospects more talented than Bronny in this class," added another.
Bronny James has several areas where he could significantly improve if he continues playing in college. However, Draymond Green considers that declaring for the draft was correct, citing how underwhelming this year's draft class seems.
GMs might need to think out of the box when recruiting their next young prospects, and Bronny could be one of those hidden gems. It may also give the team that drafts him a shot at signing LeBron James, with the Lakers star mentioning he wants to finish his career playing with his son.
