LeBron “Bronny” James Jr. is expected to split time between the Los Angeles Lakers and the club’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers after the team’s road trip concludes on Nov. 6.
According to ESPN, although Lakers head coach JJ Redick said those plans are subject to change, the team plans to use James as a two-way contract player, meaning he can be sent between the two clubs as needed.
As Redick told ESPN on Oct. 25, “Our plans are always fluid based on real time. I believe we have two guys dressing today that as of yesterday we’re not dressing out.”
Redick continued, “The plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one. [General manager] Rob [Pelinka] and I have talked about that. LeBron’s talked about that.”
To Redick’s point, at the Lakers media day in September, LeBron, who made history with Bronny on Oct. 22 as the first father-son duo to play in a regular season NBA game together, discussed his hopes for his son’s rookie season.
“Just [looking forward to] seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player no matter if it’s here with us or if it’s down with the G League team and him continuing to get better and better and better,” LeBron told reporters. “His job is to put the work in and get better and better, just like the rest of us. And we want to hold him accountable, and he’s going to hold us accountable. And if we all do that, we all get better, because we’re all one team. We’re a reflection of South Bay; South Bay is a reflection of us.”
As a second-round pick, it would have been unreasonable to expect Bronny to come in and have any real impact on the Lakers NBA squad, most second-round picks have to spend time developing their game in the G League.
According to ESPN, 23 of the 28 players selected in the second round in the 2023 NBA Draft spent some time in the G League.
As Redick said in July, the G League is a key part of the team’s player development program.
“For us, prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as like, case study one, because his base level of feel, athleticism, point-of-attack defender, shooting, passing, there’s a lot to like about his game,” Redick said. “And as we sort of build out our player development program holistically, he’s going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player.”
James also has an important voice who also believes in the ability of the Lakers coaching staff to get the most out of Bronny: Lakers legend Magic Johnson.
Johnson said earlier in October during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he believes James could thrive under the tutelage of the South Bay Lakers coaching staff.
“If I’m Bronny, I would tell my dad, ‘Just let me play in the G League all season so that I can develop,’” Johnson told Kimmel. “He needs playing time. He doesn’t need to be sitting on the Laker bench and not playing. That’s not a knock against him, he’s just not ready. He needs to develop more, and then he will be ready because he has some great talent and skills.”
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