Bronny James drafted by the Lakers
Well, he did it. And by him, I mean LeBron. After years of talking about the potential of sharing an NBA court with his son – the earliest article about it I found was in 2017 – it's finally happening. Bronny was selected on Thursday with the Lakers' late second-round pick. This is, of course, despite essentially every scout saying he would not get drafted if his name wasn't LeBron James Jr. and his dad wasn't actively in the NBA.
It's easy to talk about it facetiously since it's LeBron, and LeBron is a character, but I am actually excited to see it. I'm hoping Bronny is good enough that it's not too much of a stretch that he's in the league. So, let's talk scouting report. Bronny's first and only year at USC was disrupted early by a cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect. It delayed the start of his college career, and saying it could have affected his play and confidence is fair. He went on to appear in 25 games (six starts), averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals in 19.4 minutes. Despite Bronny's nice-looking jumper, he slashed just 37/27/68. But he showed off decent passing and defensive chops, his 19.5% assist rate similar to Brandin Podziemski, and his 2.2% steal rate similar to Cason Wallace. He's 6-foot-2 but not a true point guard, lacking top-shelf handle or vision, which has led to comparisons to Davion Mitchell. Much of his offensive and defensive game is fueled by his great athleticism and 210-pound frame, but that will only matter so much if he can't make a jumper.
How much will play? Any time someone asks this in real life, I do a lot of shrugging and say stuff like "in certain matchups" and "the first six minutes of the second quarter is sort of built-in junk time anyway." My guess is that he'll play something like 5-10 minutes regularly, but that he'll spend time in the G League when the Lakers go on long road trips.
Biggest Trades
Mikal Bridges to the Knicks
The Villanova Knicks add another piece to the puzzle. The Nets traded Bridges to the Knicks in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick via the Bucks, an unprotected pick swap, and a second-round pick on Tuesday. It's a lot to give up for Bridges, who is quietly turning 28 years old in August and has never made an All-Star team.
But it's easy to forget Bridges was on the All-Defensive First Team and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting with the Suns in 2021-22. He stopped making a massive defensive impact when he was asked to be the No. 1 option in Brooklyn for a year and a half. In New York, that won't necessarily be the case. Bridges averaged 21.2 points during his 109 appearances with Brooklyn, fewer than both Jalen Brunson (28.7 PPG) and Julius Randle (remember him? 24 PPG) last season. I think Bridges thrives as a cog in a winning environment, not the engine of one.
In terms of fantasy value, I think Bridges' will stay roughly the same as last season, though with the Knicks playing at a slow pace and focusing on defense, I won't be surprised at a small decrease. Meanwhile, everyone else on the team may be asked to do just a bit less. That sort of thing is a push and pull with efficiency versus volume. I could see Randle and Donte DiVincenzo suffering the most.
For the Nets, it's Cam Thomas' team now, baby. And wasn't it really already last year, since he led the team in scoring (22.5 PPG)? I think at some point last year, Bridges just said "Alright, man. It's your team. Take 20 shots a game. I don't even want to be here." I'll spare you from a wall of text about lineup data, but there are some high sample size ones that put Thomas at over 30 points per 36 minutes when Bridges isn't there. Don't be surprised if Brooklyn tries to clear older players before the season, like Cam Johnson (28), Dorian Finney-Smith (31) and Dennis Schroder (30). And I'm not going to talk about Ben Simmons in June.
Avdija sent to Blazers for Brogdon
This headline could also read, "Brogdon banished to Washington." The two were swapped, with the Wizards also receiving the No. 14 pick in this draft (Bub Carrington) and a 2029 pick. The only problem I have with this trade is that I think Avdija has already proved to be he belongs as a role player in a winning environment. I want him on a contender, not feeding Deandre Ayton in the post after his rough night of sleep on an air mattress. Where do you even find an air mattress for a 7-footer? Why wouldn't you just…Couldn't he have…You have so much money…18 Mattress Firms in Portland…
Avdija joins a weirdly crowded Portland wing rotation that's also either trying or obligated to feed minutes to Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and Jerami Grant. I don't think it'll be too much of a problem to squeeze in Avdija, but I also think he'll have trouble reaching last season's 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.1 minutes per game.
As for Washington, for our sake as fantasy managers, I hope they just trade Brogdon to a team that needs him. I don't want to have to think about drafting Brogdon because he might start and go back to Pacers Brogdon. Please, please trade him. With Avdija gone, though, we should see more Bilal Coulibaly, which is fun, I guess? And I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about a Jordan Poole bounceback. One step at a time.
Notable selections from the Draft
If you want complete first-round coverage, we have you covered. So I'll hone it in here and talk about what I found especially noteworthy from both nights.
Best Fantasy Situation
Alex Sarr, Wizards
The No. 2 pick in the Draft joins a team in the midst of a teardown. He won't be Washington's first offensive option – and will probably never be a first offensive option – but there's a realistic path to him playing 30+ minutes every night and being the team's third look behind Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. Defense is his best quality, however, with his 8% block rate in the NBL being in the range of players like Chet Holmgren and Brook Lopez. Sarr isn't as good of a shooter as he wants to be, and his decision-making is shaky, so it'll be interesting to see how Washington utilizes him on offense.
Worst Fantasy Situation
Donovan Clingan, Trail Blazers
Free this man. The 7-foot-2 center is stuck behind two centers, Deandre Ayton and Rob Williams. Hopefully, Portland looks to trade one or both of the pair (my hope is Ayton) to allow Clingan to at least see consistent minutes in the 20s. His block rate in college (11.4%) is higher than Victor Wembanyama's, and he's good at everything else a guy his size needs to be good at to be a traditional five. Clingan might be worth drafting in fantasy just due to the blocks upside, but I won't be shocked if he's not especially relevant as a rookie…until maybe April, of course.
Favorite Dynasty/Keeper League Pick
They're saying he's like Steph Curry but also an elite defender. They're not saying that – but that's what I'll tell everyone after I get the No. 1 pick in my dynasty draft and select Sheppard. He went 75-of-144 (52%) from 3 in his one-and-done year at Kentucky. His 4.5% steal rate would lead the NBA. His 2.5% block rate is the same as Giannis Antetokounmpo's. These are real numbers. Sheppard is only 6-foot-2 (but weighs a respectable 182 pounds), and I'm not convinced he's a "real" point guard in the NBA, but his worst-case scenario is flying around off-ball screens and launching 3s at volume while being pesky on D and racking up some steals.
Zach Edey
Zach Edey, Grizzlies
Yes, Edey and Bronny get their own dedicated sections of the article. Edey very quickly went from "he might get drafted at the end of the first round" to "the Grizzlies might take him at No. 9." And that's what happened. The back-to-back national college player of the year stands at 7-foot-4, 299 pounds with a 7-foot-11 wingspan. He's slow-footed and plays an extinct post-up game on offense. But he had an elite block rate (6.9%) despite being told to avoid fouls at all cost, and his offensive rebound rate (19.5%) would have led the NBA. Ja Morant will love the massive screens Edey sets as well, and it keeps Jaren Jackson from playing "too much" center. I think I'm in on this.
Don't Sleep On
Dalton Knecht, Lakers
Indeed, I am telling you not to sleep on a Los Angeles Laker – something that's effectively impossible given their coverage. But the Lakers found 27 minutes per game for Taurean Prince last season, who is now a free agent. And I'm just out on Cam Reddish, who saw 21 minutes per game in his 48 appearances. Plus, there were those pesky Christian Wood minutes. What I'm trying to say is, there's room for Knecht to play, and play a decent amount, if he amounts to his potential as a rookie. Open 3s from LeBron will always be there, and Knecht is a great off-ball mover who can also finish hard at the rim.
Intriguing Second-Rounder
Jonathan Mogbo, Raptors
I'm really going out on a limb here with the first pick in the second round. Cliché incoming: Mogbo shouldn't be here. He willed his way up from community college before spending his fourth collegiate season (technically his junior year) at San Francisco, where he was WCC All-Conference First Team. Mogbo is the quintessential pickup basketball nightmare. He's an athletic 6-foot-6, 217 pounds, and lets you know about it. He'll bully you on both ends of the floor, rebound like a magnet, and knows how to pass if he draws help defense. The catch is that he can't shoot, attempting two 3s last year, though he shot a non-disastrous 69.2% from the free-throw line. He fits the Raptor vibe perfectly as a mix between a forward and center.
