The Los Angeles Lakers double down on a failed strategy by drafting USC's Bronny James

Most NBA Draft analysts and fans expected Bronny James to end up a Los Angeles Laker with Lebron James. Reports circulating the second round suggested that the James camp told other teams to avoid drafting Bronny. The former USC basketball guard spent most of the pre-draft process working out with his dad in Laker territory.

Indeed, Bronny wanted to remain in Los Angeles, and the rest of the league could do nothing to intervene.

I don't blame Bronny James for wanting to end up with the Lakers. Beginning his pro career on his father's team is the best-case scenario for Bronny's development. The Trojan alum has a lot of work to do before he's pro-ready, but I'm confident that a couple of years in Los Angeles will result in Bronny playing meaningful minutes in NBA games.

The Lakers should have moved on from Lebron James.

The Lakers had their chance to opt out of the Lebron James experience, and they balked. By choosing to go further into the marriage, Rob Pelinka and company set the franchise further back.

The Lebron James era in Los Angeles has not worked. Since handing the keys to the future Hall of Famer, all the Lakers have to brag about is a pandemic bubble championship and an NBA in-season tournament trophy. Regarding conventional NBA championship runs, Lebron's Lakers have yet to stand a chance.

Lebron will be 40 in December and has too much mileage on his body to carry a team to a championship like he did in Cleveland. Los Angeles also lacks the "big three" dynamic King James won multiple titles with in Miami. Today, the Lakers are over the salary cap by $71,714,323 and relying on journeyman players to vault the franchise over the stiff competition in Denver, Minnesota, and Phoenix.

The priority in Los Angeles is media attention, not championships.

Los Angeles would have been better off ripping the band-aid this offseason, freeing themselves from Lebron's $51.415M cap hit, and rebuilding a young core under a young head coach. Instead, the Lakers are proving they're more focused on retaining the paparazzi and pop culture vibes that surround James.

Reports indicate Lebron plans to opt out of his contract with the Lakers next month but will re-sign for more years at a similar cap number. Los Angeles burning the 55th pick on Bronny all but guarantees such.

The prospect of the first father-son duo to play on the same NBA team is neat. But I wonder if Lebron has enough gas left in the tank to hang around long enough to play with Bronny. The former USC Trojan needs at least two years in the G League before he's NBA-ready.