Warriors reported reason for not drafting Bronny James is a bad look

No prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft was more polarizing than Bronny James. On one hand, he had some quality traits that made him worth drafting like his defense and his NBA IQ. On the other hand, Bronny's overall game did not seem good enough to make him draft-worthy according to many NBA draft analysts. The fact that he was taken at all seemed to have a lot to do with the fact that he's the son of arguably the greatest player in NBA history, LeBron James.

LeBron's presence undoubtedly helped Bronny's case, especially since he was taken with the No. 55 overall pick by the team he's currently on, the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Lakers weren't the only team interested in drafting him.

According to ESPN Senior Writer Ramona Shelburne, the Golden State Warriors liked Bronny and were considering selecting him with the No. 52 overall pick, three slots before the Lakers inevitably snagged him. Their reported reason for not doing so is a bad look.

Warriors reason for passing on Bronny James is hard to get behind

"He stood next to Pelinka as the Golden State Warriors, who had tried to trade for James last season, weighed whether to take Bronny at No. 52. The Warriors liked Bronny's skill set and had him on their draft board, sources said. Selecting him ahead of the Lakers, who held the 55th pick, would've been a shrewd move -- perhaps even to entice James to sign there as a free agent. But ultimately, sources said, the Warriors opted to respect the wishes James had made clear and the Lakers signaled they would grant."

The Warriors liked Bronny's skill set and had him on their draft board. They knew that the Lakers were going to get him three picks later, so their only chance of acquiring him would've been by selecting him with their pick. They refused to make that selection ultimately because they wanted to respect LeBron's wishes to play with his son.

While it's admirable to see the Warriors give LeBron (and a large segment of NBA fans) what they want, why exactly were they respecting his wishes? Nothing about this benefits them.

Had the Warriors drafted Bronny, they would've gotten a player that they liked enough to have on their board. The Warriors might've even been able to play chess by drafting Bronny and eventually luring LeBron to the Bay Area. The idea of LeBron James and Stephen Curry teaming up is one that NBA fans have been salivating over for what seems like a decade now, and might've actually had a chance of happening at some point had the Warriors drafted his son.

It's hard to see what the Warriors gain from this. They miss out on a player that they like, they miss out on LeBron, and they now have to go up against LeBron who is not only in their conference, but in their own division. They keep LeBron, a player who is not on their team, happy, but what does that do for the Warriors?

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. If Bronny turns into a solid role player, which is entirely possible, the Warriors will be kicking themselves. If it turns out that LeBron would've been willing to come to Golden State had they drafted Bronny, they'd have even more of a reason to be frustrated.