NBA GM Says Bronny James Is ‘Nowhere Near Ready’ For NBA© Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

One NBA general manager told Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that Bronny James is “nowhere near ready” for the NBA.

Bronny has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft while retaining his college eligibility. He has also entered the transfer portal.

“Bronny is nowhere near ready,” an NBA general manager told The Ringer. “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.”

Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks for USC this season while shooting 36.6% from the field, 26.7% from beyond the arc and 67.6% from the free-throw line.

“Bronny is an undersized non-shooting guard,” an NBA scout told The Ringer. “The shot looks good but doesn’t go in. Those guys scare me the most. It’s either lack of touch or mental, and either way those take years to correct.”

Bronny’s dad, LeBron James, can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines his 2024-25 player option with the Los Angeles Lakers. A team could draft Bronny just to get LeBron’s attention.

“There are probably three rounds’ worth of prospects more talented than Bronny in this class,” one GM said told The Ringer. “So picking Bronny is more about getting LeBron’s attention right now than it is about developing Bronny himself.”

LeBron is 39. He’s the oldest player in the NBA. It’s unknown how many more years he will play in the NBA, but the four-time champion has said many times that he wants to play at least one season with Bronny.

“Comparisons that came up in these conversations include Patrick Beverley, Davion Mitchell, and Norris Cole,” O’Connor wrote. “Beverley has had the longest career of the three because he’s the best shooter (37 percent from 3 in his career). Mitchell has yet to figure out his shot with the Kings, while Cole won two titles with LeBron in Miami before flaming out, in part because his shot never developed. But all three of them were respectable defenders. Bronny will have to follow in their footsteps to catch on with a winning team.”