LeBron’s son declares for NBA draft and enters transfer portal
Bronny James will enter the NBA draft after one season at Southern California that was shortened by his recovery from cardiac arrest.
The 19-year-old son of LeBron James announced Friday on his Instagram account that he also plans to retain his college eligibility and will enter the transfer portal.
“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.
James posted his decision hours before USC introduced Eric Musselman as its new coach. He comes from Arkansas and replaces Andy Enfield, who left on Monday to become coach at SMU.
Musselman is scrambling to assemble a coaching staff and assess a roster that has also lost junior Kobe Johnson, who said Thursday that he’s committed to crosstown rival UCLA. USC star freshman Isaiah Collier attended Musselman’s news conference.
“I need to try to get a hold of Bronny. I’ve texted him,” Musselman said after his campus news conference. “Certainly he’s got a lot of options and we respect those options. We just want him to know that, hey, this opportunity here, if you want to play at USC, we’d love to have him. Such a talented young man.”
James averaged 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds while starting six of 25 games for the Trojans. He shot 37% from the field, 27% from 3-point range and 68% from the free throw line.
The elder James, his wife and their 9-yearold daughter were frequent courtside spectators at the Galen Center this season.
“Bronny is his own man,” the elder James said this week. “He has some tough decisions to make. When he’s ready to make those decisions, he’ll let us all know. But as his family, we’re going to support whatever he does.”
The 39-year-old James has been vocal about wanting to play with his son in the NBA.
Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who represents father and son, said recently that he doesn’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.”
James, a 6-foot-4 combo guard, didn’t make his college debut until Dec. 10. Afterward, James appeared in front of the media for less than a minute to thank the doctors, athletic trainers and support system that helped him return to play.
Despite numerous requests, James never spoke to reporters during the season.
He suffered cardiac arrest on July 20 during a workout at the Galen Center. He was found to have a congenital heart defect that was treatable.
DONCIC SITS
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is out for a key game in the Western Conference playoff race, sitting the second night of a back-to-back Friday because of right knee soreness.
Doncic will miss the second meeting with Golden State in four days as the MVP candidate and league scoring leader tries to guide the Mavs into a guaranteed playoff spot in the top six in the West.
The quick rematch with the Warriors comes a night after Dallas’ 109-95 victory over Atlanta.
The back-to-back was the result of a shuffling of the schedule after two Golden State games were postponed following the death of assistant coach Dejan Milojevic in January.
One of the makeup games was Tuesday in California, with the Warriors beating the Mavs 104-100. Dallas had won 11 consecutive games with Doncic in the lineup and seven straight overall going into that loss.
The Mavs and Warriors were originally scheduled to play Tuesday in Dallas, but that meeting was pushed to Friday while the Atlanta game was moved up a day to Thursday.
Doncic is averaging 33.8 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds, and is leading the Mavs on a 12-2 surge that had them alone in fifth in the West to start the night.
The five-time All-Star is expected to be available for a Sunday afternoon home game against Houston. Without Doncic, the focus turns again to backcourt mate Kyrie Irving, an eight-time All-Star.
JIMENEZ ON IL
Chicago White Sox outfielder and designated hitter Eloy Jiménez was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with a left adductor strain.
Jiménez was hurt running out a ground ball in the sixth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. The move was retroactive to April 2.
The White Sox initially believed Jiménez could be recover in time for their four-game series in Kansas City against the Royals.
“He was going good, so there was an opportunity there,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “But there wasn’t any progress. There comes a point where you’ve got to make a decision.”
Chicago also selected the contract of outfielder Robbie Grossman from Triple-A Charlotte and designated right-hander Alex Speas for assignment.
Jiménez is expected to remain with the team, maintaining his current recovery program.
“We’ll just slow him down and make sure he gets his seven days and just get him right,” Grifol said. “We think that slowing this down and taking our time with it, there’s a really good chance that we can be done with it. He’ll continue to do his stuff, but not with the same urgency. He was getting after it yesterday because we were trying to get him on the field.”
Jiménez hit .272 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs last year. This year he had two hits in 11 at-bats before his injury.
Losing Jiménez is a blow to a White Sox team that has scored just 12 runs in six games and been shut out twice.