The Phoenix Suns have the 22nd pick in this year's NBA Draft, and the thought process at this stage was that they might take a backup big man to eventually take over from the lumbering Jusuf Nurkic. We also made the argument that the organization should consider taking at look at Bronny James, for a number of reasons.
Central to this was the fact that the Suns are going to have a G League affiliate this season - the Valley Suns - and Bronny could generate some interest down there. As things stand there is a strong chance he is not going to be drafted at all, with some fairly scathing reports on his workouts ahead of the draft.
All of that changed however, with word from Shams Charania of The Athletic that the Suns plan to bring the younger James in for a workout ahead of the draft.
As standalone information that means nothing. The franchise still aren't likely to draft him, and they are just doing what all front offices do by making sure they evaluate all of the players they could in theory draft, just in case they happen to unearth a diamond.
And yet...
In the wake of Shams dropping that information, Cameron Cox of 12 News Arizona followed it up by adding this little sliver of information.
What if I told you there was a reason 👀.. https://t.co/qnLQCvglyN
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) May 24, 2024
Could this mean nothing? Absolutely, plenty of people have used information in the past to make a bit of a name for themselves online. Not that Cox is doing this, and if anything his confident proclamation that there's no smoke without fire is really interesting. If you dig a little deeper, then the possibility of James leaving Los Angeles to play with his son gains even more momentum.
Arizona is an hour away by plane from Los Angeles, and it would be fair to say LeBron does not need the money at this stage of his career. If he went to The Valley on a minimum, he would also have a better chance of winning a championship than he currently does with the Lakers. James and Kevin Durant are also friends, and it would surely be nice to play with him as well.
They could even convince Chris Paul to come back on a minimum and make things really funky. It has also long been rumored that James will own the NBA's expansion team in Las Vegas, which again is in the same area as both Arizona and Los Angeles.
Could the stars be lining up perfectly here? That seems premature, but James has shocked the world before. On paper at least the chance to actually play with his son and not uproot his life completely looks to be in play here. This is definitely a story to keep an eye on, because it is likely not the last we have heard of Bronny, his father and them coming together in The Valley of the Sun.