LeBron James is likely entering his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader, who has a player option after the 2023-24 season, has been very clear in the past about his willingness to play with his son, Bronny James. Bronny is eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft.
Bronny has yet to commit to the 2024 NBA Draft, and it’s difficult to determine where he will end up. All signs pointed to him being a late first-round, early second-round pick, but his value increased significantly when he arrived with his father.
Therefore, Bronny has become the most interesting non-number one pick in NBA draft history. Even though there’s still a full NBA (and college) season to play, some fans are already convinced he’ll lure his dad to their favorite team.
That includes Boston Celtics fans, who are starting to lay the groundwork for LeBron to end his career with his biggest rival, the Lakers.
LeBron James is very likely to leave the Lakers and join the Celtics
As mentioned above, a lot can happen between now and the 2024 NBA Draft. But ultimately, the Celtics are in one of the best positions to lure LeBron away from the Lakers with a back-end first-round pick.
Boston has its own first-round pick and Golden State’s first-round pick (top four protected). This should give the team two 20-something draft picks without requiring too much roster space to actually fill. If there’s one team that could take just Bronny and LeBron join, it’s the Celtics.
In LeBron’s eyes, the Celtics were one of the best teams to draft Bronny from a basketball perspective. He’ll have to take a pay cut (which is going to happen anyway), but he’ll have a chance to compete with his son for a championship. It’s much better than spending the winter in Portland or Charlotte.
Boston is a team that doesn’t even need LeBron to do much. The team could play him in a similar role to Al Horford, give him 20-25 minutes per game, and then let him play in the NBA playoffs. LeBron may be entering his 22nd season by the time Bronny enters the league, but he’ll still be extremely effective in this type of role.
In the case of the Lakers, the team may not even have a chance to prevent this from happening. New Orleans has the right to select the Lakers’ 2024 draft pick or roll it unprotected to 2025.
In theory, the Pelicans would be better off picking in 2025 than drafting, especially if the Lakers draft in their 20s. But if the Pelicans really want to piss off the Lakers, they can, which could open the door for LeBron James to retire from the Celtics.