If rumors of the Golden State Warriors interest in LeBron James actually forms into a free agency signing, rest assured the James camp will be angling for his son Bronny to also make his way to the Bay Area despite being under contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for next season.
Would the Lakers really stand in the way of Bronny joining his father elsewhere for what would likely be his final NBA season? Should Rob Pelinka and the franchise prove unwilling to waive Bronny and take the $2.3 million cap hit, the Warriors have an obvious piece to use in a trade.
Warriors could trade 54th pick to Lakers for Bronny James
While all the focus remains on what Golden State will do with the 11th overall pick at the NBA draft later this month, they'll also have the 54th pick to try and potentially secure another rotation piece after recent success with second-round selections.
Alternatively, that seems like an obvious pick to give up for the younger James who went 55th overall to the Lakers two years ago. In that time he's showed signs that he's not just a favor to his famous father and that he can become a long-term NBA player, yet still hasn't established himself after averaging 8.1 minutes across 69 appearances in two seasons.
The 54th pick would then appear to be reasonable value, giving Los Angeles a chance to find a player who may actually be better and more impactful, while ensuring the Warriors do right by James if they want to sign him in free agency.
The issue with this is the timing given the second-round of the draft will take place six days before the start of free agency. While a Bronny trade could take place on draft night, that would be all too obvious and foreshadow what's to come, subsequently leading to the potential of investigations on free agency tampering.
The Warriors would have to draft a player they believe the Lakers will have interest in were a trade to eventuate, or alternatively trade the 54th selection for a future second-round pick that may be top 40-50 protected. Either way, the 54th pick feels right to use in a Bronny trade if Golden State feel compelled to add him alongside his father this summer.
Warriors may not be able to afford trading for Bronny James
The bigger issue for the Warriors may be working out if they can truly afford to have Bronny taking up a roster spot on an old, injury-prone team. This is someone who averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 assists this past season, and who is yet to solidify himself as a legitimate and consistent NBA rotation player.
Golden State signing a nearly 42-year-old James should signal that they need to make the most of their remaining roster spots, rather than utilize one on his son who may not be prepared to play considerable minutes due to the team's injury and availability issues.
For the moment this is all hypothetical, but it's something the Warriors will seriously have to consider and work out if they're truly interested in making a blockbuster free agency move for James in the next month.
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