Bronny James' move to declare for the NBA Draft and enter the transfer portal was inevitable

Bronny James announced on Instagram that he will declare for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility.

After playing one season for the USC Trojans and not making a major impact, James will test the waters as a potential one-and-done candidate for the pros. As we speculated, he will also enter the transfer portal. That means all options, including even playing next season at Duquesne in Pittsburgh, are on the table.

Here is more from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

“If Bronny James decides to return to college and transfer elsewhere, Duquesne is expected to be among his prominent considerations, sources said. Duquesne’s new coach, Dru Joyce, was a high school teammate of LeBron’s and a longtime James family friend. Joyce was promoted to head coach after Keith Dambrot retired following an Atlantic 10 championship and a run to the NCAA tournament. Dambrot was the high school coach of James and Joyce at St. Vincent’s-St. Mary’s in Akron Ohio.”

His decision to leave all of the doors open was always the most likely option for James. But it became increasingly likely when his USC head coach, Andy Enfield, left for a new job with SMU. Eric Musselman, the former Arkansas head coach, was hired to replace him.

James, who was able to return to play after suffering a terrifying cardiac arrest before the season began, didn’t have a particularly impressive freshman season.

Due to his heart condition, he will also need to get cleared by NBA’s fitness-to-play panel.

Even before the health scare, however, talent evaluators had concerns that James may not be ready for the NBA for several years. While he had shown “NBA potential” during his time in high school, he was never considered one of the best players in his class.

There is nothing definitive about James’ decision to declare for the draft, though. He is currently testing the waters and leaving all options available to him, which includes turning pro as well as seeing what other colleges might make sense for him.

He can go through the process and he can hear what evaluators say about his potential. If the feedback suggests he should withdraw and return to school, it is still possible for him to do exactly that.

The hard part is whatever decision comes next for Bronny, who has plenty of room for development before he is ready to contribute in the NBA.