NBA Draft: Could Warriors be interested in Bronny James if it gives them a chance at LeBron?

With no generational prospect like we saw with Victor Wembanyama, the 2024 NBA Draft doesn't appear to have the hype of previous years. That's probably a good thing for the Golden State Warriors who don't own their first-round pick, unless it somehow conveys into a top four selection.

Yet there could remain a major storyline towards the bottom of the 2024 Draft, with LeBron "Bronny" James Jr. a potential second-round selection should he declare for the draft after his freshman year at the USC Trojans.

Could the Golden State Warriors hold draft interest in Bronny James if it means landing LeBron as a free agent during the offseason?

In his newsletter on Monday, NBA Insider Marc Stein dropped quite the bombshell in reporting that LeBron James would be willing to take a pay cut to play with his 19-year-old son from next season.

"I know of at least two teams on the NBA map that believe LeBron James would consider signing with them at far less than $51.4 million if Bronny James is on the roster. There might be more."

- Marc Stein

Could the Warriors be one of those teams? Interestingly, the franchise re-entered the 2024 Draft when they traded Cory Joseph to the Indiana Pacers for a second-round pick at last week's deadline. That at least gives them a hope of drafting Bronny, one that wasn't there prior to the trade.

LeBron has often gone public with his desire to play alongside his sons -- both Bronny and younger son Bryce who at the earliest will be eligible for the 2026 NBA Draft. The four-time MVP will be 41 by the time he could theoretically play alongside Bryce.

The issue for Golden State is that even if they managed to draft Bronny, as a luxury tax team they'd need LeBron to take a HUGE pay cut. Even with Klay Thompson's expiring contract, Chris Paul's non-guaranteed deal, a player option for Gary Payton II, and a team option for Kevon Looney, the Warriors have no capacity to offer James anything near the realms of his $51.4 million option with the Lakers.

Would LeBron sign a minimum contract with Golden State, or any other team, in order to play with his son? Who really knows how far that wish extends, and to what level of financial sacrifice he'd accept to make it happen.

Bronny James has played 16 games for the Trojans this season, with the 6'4" guard averaging 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.8 steals in 20.9 minutes while shooting 35.6% from the floor and 27.1% from three-point range.