Pac-12 players who are better than Bronny James did not get picked in NBA draft

The second round of the 2024 NBA draft took place on Thursday afternoon. Bronny James landed with the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 55 overall. This was predictable, but the process leading to the pick contained a measure of controversy. Meanwhile, however, other Pac-12 basketball stars who could have been picked were not selected.

On the matter of Bronny James, start with this point: According to ESPN’s Bob Myers, James’ agent Rich Paul (Klutch Sports) is told teams not to draft Bronny James, and that if they did pick him, he would have gone to Australia rather than sign.

“Right now, Rich Paul is calling teams, don’t take Bronny James. He’s telling them to not take him. Saying don’t take him, if you take him, he’s going to Australia. So he has a plan and he has a place,” Myers reported on ESPN

Bronny only worked out for two teams during the pre-draft process, the Lakers and Phoenix Suns. A lot of people didn’t like this series of events, as though Bronny didn’t deserve to be taken at No. 55. However, other teams made questionable draft selections. There were good Pac-12 players on the board — players better than Bronny — but NBA teams passed them up. Isaac Jones of Washington State is one such player. Keshad Johnson of Arizona is another such player. Don’t blame Rich Paul or Bronny for engineering the draft. Other teams had plenty of choices and might not have done the best job they could.

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