The Warriors Were Reportedly Interested In Drafting Bronny James But Decided To Pass In Order To "Respect The Wishes" Of LeBron

ESPN - REDICK WAS IN the room when the Lakers made history and a dream into reality.

He stood next to Pelinka as the Golden State Warriors, who had tried to trade for James last season, weighed whether to take Bronny at No. 52. The Warriors liked Bronny's skill set and had him on their draft board, sources said. Selecting him ahead of the Lakers, who held the 55th pick, would've been a shrewd move -- perhaps even to entice James to sign there as a free agent. But ultimately, sources said, the Warriors opted to respect the wishes James had made clear and the Lakers signaled they would grant.

Look, I'm not saying Bronny James is the next great prospect who is about to take the NBA by storm, but what are we doing here? What is it about the entire NBA world being extremely weird when it comes to Bronny James? If we're to believe this reporting and take it on face value, then the Warriors, a team in the same division as the Lakers and a team that will be battling them for playoff positioning (OK, Play In positioning most likely) is just passing on prospects who they like all to appease LeBron's wishes? 

And everyone just thinks that's normal and not extremely embarrassing?

Maybe Bronny pans out and maybe he doesn't, but that's not really the point. If I were a Warriors fan this would have me bullshit. We're passing on prospects in order to help the Lakers? At the same time when the roster desperately needs young talent to pan out in this next wave of Warriors basketball? Again, maybe Bronny flops, but what if he doesn't? What if he turns into a perfectly acceptable role player at the NBA level? That's not something the Warriors could use? 

I dunno, something about this doesn't exactly pass the smell test. Is this all your typical LeBron/Lakers PR to spin that Bronny actually was a coveted prospect? With all the talk about how he didn't deserve to be drafted and is only in the NBA because of who his Dad is, I can see this being some sort of attempt to shift the narrative. No, no you see, he actually could have been taken at 52 based on his merit alone as a basketball player, but the Warriors just wanted to give LeBron what he wanted instead.

What? How does that make sense? And if it is true, what the hell is the Warriors front office doing? 

Now, if you're telling me this is all a long con in an attempt to get LeBron to Golden State one day, I guess on some level that's understandable. If you're indifferent about the player, maybe you hope this helps you down the road. Plus, we heard all summer long how much Steph and LeBron want to play together. Where this theory gets a little tricky though is it would mean that LeBron would then leave LA (where his son plays) to play in GS? Why not just draft Bronny and find a way to get LeBron to GS afterward? 

But if it is true that the Warriors really did like Bronny and wanted to Draft him, then I'm not sure it gets much worse than intentionally helping our your rival instead of you know….YOUR OWN FRANCHISE PLAYER WHO DESPERATELY NEEDS HELP. Going with the "we don't want to make LeBron mad" approach instead would enrage me as a fan and want the entire Warriors front office cleaned out. If they aren't in the business of doing what's best to improve the team, what's the point? 

At the very least, draft Bronny and make the Lakers trade for him! That way you get some assets for your trouble! Am I taking crazy pills or something? 

That's why I'm calling bullshit. I take this as your typical LA PR spin to make it seem like Bronny's talent level and perception around the league are better than the narrative that currently surrounds him. Why that even matters is anyone's guess considering he's going to spend a lot of time in the G-League anyway, but man if this really did go down how it's reported, that's about as embarrassing as it gets for the Warriors.