Bronny James’ future is outside of USC.
The son of NBA legend LeBron James entered the draft after just one season with the Trojans and also entered the transfer portal in case he opts to stay in college, he announced on his Instagram.
“I’ve had a year with some ups and downs but all added to growth for me as a man, student and athlete,” James wrote on Instagram
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, he’ll work out for and visit with NBA teams and make a draft decision based on evaluation.
Bronny’s freshman season at USC was disappointing under challenging circumstances.
At a July workout at USC, Bronny suffered cardiac arrest and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that sidelined him for almost five months.
He made his season debut about a month into USC’s season.
The 19-year-old averaged only 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game with the Trojans and shot just over 25% from three.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, James plans to meet with teams for workouts prior to the May 31 deadline to stay in the draft.
If James determines there’s a potential development plan, he’ll keep his name in.
“I don’t value a young player getting into the lottery as much as I do getting him on the right team in the right developmental situation,” Rich Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports and James’ agent, told ESPN in March.
If James’ workouts do not yield interest from NBA teams, he can head back to college.
James will certainly garner a lot of interest from the transfer portal, and with another year to develop, he could be a star on any team.
One team to look out for if James does return to the college is Duquesne.
The Dukes’ new coach, Dru Joyce, was a high school teammate of LeBron and a James family friend.
Keith Dambrot, who retired last month after coaching Duquesne to its first NCAA Tournament win since 1969, was LeBron’s high school coach.
There were reports earlier this week following USC head coach Andy Enfield’s departure to coach at SMU, Bronny would enter the portal.
“I don’t where [the report] came from, but at the end of the day Bronny is his own man,” LeBron said of the report. “He has some tough decisions to make and when he’s ready to make those decisions he’ll let us all know. But as his family, we’ll support whatever he does.”