Inside that office, Paul said, Bronny was signing basketball cards when they began outlining his options. Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports Group, was blunt.
He had canvassed executives from across the NBA and said he told Bronny he was not projected to be a first-round pick in the draft in late June, that he was probably a second-round pick, if that. That he could even go undrafted.
sitting on a couch inside his spacious, glass-walled corner office in Beverly Hills.
It was a warm, mid-September afternoon, and he was surrounded by testaments to his success.
framed magazine profiles, signed memorabilia, a whiteboard with financial projections, a bar cart with top-shelf tequila and champagne. He pointed to a wall.
On the other side of it, Paul told ESPN, was the very spot where just a few months ago he and Bronny James discussed the decision of whether to stay in college or declare for the NBA draft.
There had long been chatter about Bronny playing with his father, that LeBron James had influenced the decision that ultimately saw the Los Angeles Lakers pick the younger James in the second round of the NBA draft, in some way.
“Nobody pressured Bronny to go pro,” Paul said. “Bronny had a choice to stay at USC, he had a choice to transfer somewhere else or he had a choice to go pro.”
This was Bronny’s call, Paul said, and Bronny’s alone — and one that publicly and privately drew immediate criticism.
