Reports in June indicate that Bronny James could be poised for a much bigger role with the Los Angeles Lakers next season.
James appeared in 27 games for the Lakers during his rookie season, averaging just six minutes in those outings.
But now, the 20-year-old second-round pick could be getting an actual role. According to Athlon Sports, a Western Conference executive said the Lakers are trying to give him meaningful minutes.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that’s their plan,” a Western Conference executive told Athlon. “I know the guy gets a lot of grief because of who his dad is, but we’ve seen a lot of tape on (Bronny), and the fact is, he was a lot better player in April than he was in October, and definitely in July.”
It’s true. Once James started spending time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers, his NBA game just looked better in damn near every facet. He didn’t panic as much when the basketball came his way and simply seemed much more confident overall.
According to Athlon’s Steve Deveney, the executive pointed out that Bronny’s heart condition limited his playing time and development at USC. He definitely seemed to catch up in the G League.
Late in March, the Lakers were undermanned against the Milwaukee Bucks and had to lean on Bronny for 20 minutes. He gave them 17 points on an efficient 7-of-10 from the field.
At the end of the day, he was a second-round pick, and those players typically don’t play at all. He was always going to take a good bit of development.
There was absolutely a bit of nepotism at play, as LeBron James and Rich Paul reportedly warned other NBA organizations that Bronny would rather play in Australia than suit up for anybody other than the Lakers. Again, this is a second-round pick we’re talking about.
Bronny playing a significant regular-season role next season would come as a bit of a surprise. The Lakers have plenty of guards, but perhaps one of them could get flipped for a big man with a pulse.
You have to wonder if the thought might be, at some point, the Lakers organization has to see if Bronny is anything more than a gimmick. During the first few games of his NBA career, fans would go nuts, cheering every time he touched the basketball, daring him to shoot. For a while there, it was breaking sports news every time he made a basket.
Perhaps Bronny actually playing meaningful minutes next to his father during what could very well be a farewell tour is what’s best for his development—learning from a father and the greatest player of all time how to be a real NBA player and carve out a real legacy outside of being a great sideshow.
