Three weeks into the NBA season and after ten games, the expected path for Bronny James with the Los Angeles Lakers (6-4) has played out as expected. Last week it was announced that Bronny would be playing with the South Bay Lakers, the G-League affiliate team, but now there’s more news about his participation that could impact his NBA development.
South Bay Lakers’ Unique Plan for Bronny
According to ESPN NBA Insider Brian Windhorst, Bronny James will not be traveling with the South Bay Lakers for their road games. Windhorst noted that Bronny is getting “superstar treatment” within the G-League team and referred to it as nepotism – a fair point, as the real reason behind the Lakers drafting him with the 45th overall pick in this NBA Draft is well known. Windhorst dijo “From my understanding he’s [Bronny] only going to play in the South Bay Lakers home games. That he’s only gonna kinda be a part-time G League player”
A few months ago, before the Lakers drafted Bronny, I mentioned that if they did, the best move for him would be to start in the G-League. The Lakers, and especially his father LeBron James – who at 39 is in a win-now phase – don’t have much time to develop a young player on their active roster. LeBron needs a strong team to even make a push for the playoffs in the Western Conference.
So I think it’s a good decision for Bronny to be in the G-League, but he should stay there for now. The “superstar treatment” he’s getting could affect other players who are playing more minutes and working hard to secure a spot on the main roster. Unless there’s an injury or someone really stands out, it’s unlikely that rookie coach J.J. Redick will consider G League players for the Lakers-he’s made it clear that he’ll prioritize players who leave it all on the court.
Lakers games this week
The Lakers have three winnable games between today and Sunday. First up is tonight’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies (7-4), a team missing their star player Ja Morant. Last week in Memphis, the Grizzlies overwhelmed the Lakers, but the Lakers were without MVP candidate Anthony Davis, who is playing some of the best basketball of his career.
On Friday, the Lakers make their NBA Emirates Cup debut against the San Antonio Spurs (5-6) and their phenom, Victor Wembanyama. They’ll close out the week on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans (3-8), an injury-riddled team that has yet to get its starting lineup fully healthy this season.
