Rich Paul was seated on a couch in his large Beverly Hills corner office with glass walls. He was surrounded by evidence of his success on a balmy mid-September afternoon, including signed mementos, framed magazine features, a bar cart filled with premium champagne and tequila, and a whiteboard with financial projections. He gestured toward a wall.
Paul informed ESPN that it was the exact location where he and Bronny James had talked a few months prior about whether to declare for the NBA draft or remain in college.
Paul claimed that as they started explaining Bronny’s alternatives, he was signing basketball cards inside that office. Paul, Klutch Sports Group’s CEO, was direct. He claimed to have contacted NBA executives and informed Bronny that, in late June, he was not expected to be selected in the first round of the draft and would likely be selected in the second round. that he might not even be drafted.
Paul questioned Bronny about his plans.
When Bronny said, “I just want to hear my name called,”
“Do you care where it’s at?” Paul inquired.
“No,” said Bronny.
For a long time, there had been rumors that Bronny played with his father and that LeBron James had somehow influenced the Los Angeles Lakers’ choice to select the younger James in the second round of the NBA draft.
Paul claimed that “nobody pressured Bronny to go pro.” “Bronny had a choice to stay at USC, he had a choice to transfer somewhere else or he had a choice to go pro.”
According to Paul, this was Bronny’s call and alone Bronny’s, and it immediately received condemnation both in public and privately.
Bronny has been going to Paris to watch since the summer league ended in late July, when he averaged 7.0 points on 32.7% shooting, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in six games.
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