The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of their head coach search, but the scouting department is also hard at work ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.

The Lakers could have a first-round pick to use if the New Orleans Pelicans decide to defer it, but they’ll at least have the No. 55 pick which they could use to take a home run swing on a prospect. Of course, the biggest name in the pool of players Los Angeles might be eyeing is Bronny James, who was medically cleared and expected to remain in the draft.

Bronny is considered a late-round pick or undrafted free agent, but interest in him remains high because of his ties to his father LeBron James. LeBron has been transparent about wanting to play with his son, but Bronny when speaking to the media for the first time at the NBA Draft Combine, he said he doesn’t think of the possibility much, via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype:

Bronny also made sure to emphasize that his dream is to play professional basketball in the NBA and not necessarily with LeBron:

Bronny clearly wants to carve out his own name and path despite his ties to LeBron, and it sounds like he knows what he needs to focus on to get there. The chatter around him and LeBron will continue up until draft day, but the most important thing is the young guard ends up in a good situation for his basketball development.

Rich Paul telling teams drafting Bronny won’t result in Lakers’ LeBron James signing with them

With this year’s draft considered to be weak, some teams could talk themselves into reaching on Bronny James in hopes of luring LeBron as well. However, Bronny and LeBron’s agent Rich Paul said that taking Bronny won’t result in LeBron signing with them. Bronny now making these comments would seem to fall in line with that.