Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James. Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Suns owner on why his team wanted to draft Bronny James

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jul 18, 2024 11:48 AM ET

Bronny James worked out only for the Suns and Lakers before the latter drafted him with the No. 55 pick last month. During the pre-draft process, there was chatter about the Suns being intrigued by Bronny's potential, with some dubbing their interest in the USC alum as a recruiting tactic to lure Lebron James.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia confirmed Wednesday that his franchise wanted to bring Bronny aboard.

"We really liked Bronny. He's a good player" Ishbia said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "I know the Lakers drafted him. I hope he has a great future. He has a great basketball IQ. He does a lot of great things on the court. He has a lot of pressure as the son of one of one the greatest of all time. We thought he might be a good fit here in Phoenix. I wish him the best. It feels great that he [wanted to play for us]. We want Phoenix to be a destination for players, fans, and for everyone. We're trying to build something special here."

"We thought Bronny James would be a great fit here in Phoenix but the Lakers drafted him..

We want Phoenix to be a destination and it's always a positive thing when players wanna come here" ~ @Mishbia15 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Gjmy0j1MyU
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 17, 2024

The Suns drafted Virginia's Ryan Dunn with the No. 28 pick (via Denver) and Marquette's Oso Ighodaro with the No. 40 pick (via New York) at the 2024 NBA Draft.

As such, they could have beaten the Lakers to the board for Bronny's services. During ESPN's coverage of the NBA Draft, former Warriors front-office head Bob Myers said that Rich Paul, the agent of Bronny, asked teams not to draft the second-generation player as he was focused on being a Laker.

After four subpar Summer League games, Bronny had an improved outing against the Hawks on Wednesday night, making five of his 11 shots, including two threes. He shot a paltry 7-for-31 from the field through his first four games, evoking criticism from analysts and fans alike.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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