Bronny James plans to sign multi-year, guaranteed contract with the Los Angeles Lakers: Report

Bronny will play with LeBron, that’s guaranteed.

Bronny James, the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, plans to sign a guaranteed, multi-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. With this contract, he guarantees that once the 2024-25 season begins, James will be an established player on the roster alongside his father, LeBron James.

Typically, players selected in the second round have not received guaranteed contracts. Instead, they have had to compete at a high level in both the NBA Summer League and their respective teams’ training camps to receive even a two-way contract.

However, James’ agent, Rich Paul, made it very clear that he would not sign a two-way contract in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.

“Yes, that’s absolutely true,” Paul said. “Teams know that. I don’t.”

However, this is not the first time that a player selected in the second round has gotten a guaranteed contract. In last year’s draft, Jalen Pickett of the Denver Nuggets, who was selected 32nd overall, signed a four-year, $8.2 million contract with the Denver Nuggets, with $5.8 million guaranteed. Chris Livingston of the Milwaukee Bucks, who was selected late in the second round of the same draft, signed a four-year, $7.6 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, including $3 million guaranteed. However, it should be noted that Paul was also Livingston’s agent, which speaks to his power within NBA circles.

James is coming off a rather mediocre first year at the University of Southern California in statistical terms. The point guard averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Despite those numbers, James will have the opportunity to not only develop on the fly with the Los Angeles Lakers and potentially see real minutes from the start. He’ll also get to make history as part of the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.