In a 2024 NBA draft that's severely lacking star power, one of the more interesting prospects is Bronny James after he declared following a lackluster freshman season at USC. James also entered the transfer portal, keeping open to the option of staying in college.

According to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, most NBA teams expect James to return to the NCAA for a second season. While this is probably the best thing for James' career long-term, he carries enough potential as a 19-year-old to be drafted immediately. If James transfers to a smaller program and still struggles, it could ruin his NBA chances altogether.

Projections are all over the board (and may depend on what LeBron James does with his player option), with Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman writing that Bronny's range is anywhere from a late first-round pick all the way to undrafted.

As Wasserman writes: "His scoring inefficiency has raised questions about his ability to create, finish in the half court and hit jumpers consistently. He hasn't demonstrated any single, convincing skill for scoring at the next level. And teams might not believe James' defense and passing IQ are enough to justify NBA minutes."

Is a father-son package deal even worth justifying a first-round pick on James, however?

The elder will turn 40 in December, and while he is still playing at an All-NBA level, he has publicly stated that his time in the league is nearing an end. We may not even see James become a free agent at all this summer (more on this later). Drafting Bronny with no assurance that his dad will sign on as well seems like a huge waste of a first-round pick.

Bronny finished his lone season as USC with 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes, primarily coming off the bench. While Wasserman writes that his projected NBA role is that of a 3-and-D shooting guard, Bronny only shot 26.7 percent from three, making 16 total three-pointers in 25 games. There's clearly a lot more development that needs to be done.

Expect Bronny to fall into the second round, with teams that have more than one pick in the second day the most likely to take a chance on his upside. The Indiana Pacers have the most selections (three), currently projected for Nos. 36, 51 and 52 overall.