Bronny James, Isaiah Collier sign rookie contracts
Former USC guards Isaiah Collier and Bronny James are officially NBA rookies after signing guaranteed contracts with the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively.
Collier was a first-round selection and the No. 29 overall pick by the Jazz. Per team policy, details of the contract were not released. But with the rookie-scale deals, the No. 29 pick is eligible to receive $2,512,680 in his first year and a total of $12,903,788 through his first four seasons. Rookie scale contracts are guaranteed through two years with team options in the third and fourth years.
Collier was selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman honoree during his one season at USC. He averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals in 27 total games while missing some time due to a hand injury. Collier shot 49% from the field, which ranked seventh among all Pac-12 players during the 2023-24 season.
James signed a four-year, $7.9 million deal with the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania reported the contract contains a team option for the fourth season.
Second-round picks aren’t guaranteed rookie-scale contracts the way first-round picks are. There has been a bit of a trend of second-round picks getting those guaranteed contracts, but they still often sign two-way contracts and have to make the team through their work in the summer league. James’ agent, Rich Paul, said leading up to the draft that James would not be signing a two-way contract as a second-round pick. Isaiah Wong of the Miami Hurricanes was selected with the No. 55 overall pick last season by the Indiana Pacers. According to Jeff Goodman of Field of 68, Wong signed a two-way deal and earned somewhere in the $600-700K range.
Both Collier and James are on their respective teams’ NBA Summer League rosters. Former USC guard Boogie Ellis will also reportedly participate as a member of the Sacramento Kings
