Whoever drafts Bronny James should expect him to spend a year in G League

Bronny James is set to enter the NBA Draft this summer. However, he might not be NBA-ready just yet.

The son of future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James played just one season with the USC Trojans. His season was delayed due to a cardiac arrest incident in July, but he returned in December and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 25 games, six of which he started.

LeBron has consistently expressed his desire to play with his son before he retires, but Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that this is no longer a priority for James. In addition, LeBron's agent Rich Paul is reportedly prioritizing the development of Bronny James, and would rather find a place where he can hone his skills.

As such, if a team does draft Bronny James, he will very likely be assigned to the G League.

"Rich Paul's goal here in the pre-draft process for Bronny James is to see if there's the right developmental system or organization, a place that can take a young player like Bronny James, who went five months without playing after his heart episode certainly limited him in his season at USC," said Wojnarowski. "If does go in the draft, he very like would spend next year in the G League."

Bronny James likely headed to G League if drafted

If a team ultimately does draft James this summer, it might ultimately be the right choice to assign him to the G League at first.

Wojnarowski also noted that since the Los Angeles Lakers are more likely to trade their first-round pick than use it on James, which lowers the chance of he and LeBron playing together, at least in Los Angeles.

But since James missed so much time, it might be the right choice to give him a chance to develop rather than rush him to the NBA. He was unable to play or practice for five months, so he ended up falling quite far behind this past season.

This could lead to him falling to a lower spot in the draft or potentially not being drafted at all. If this is the case, he will go back to the NCAA transfer portal. Being selected in the second round and with a team with a later pick might allow him more time to develop and play in the G League and then be called up to the NBA when he is ready.

Ultimately, the cardiac arrest incident set James back quite a bit and might affect where he may go in the draft.