With the Los Angeles Lakers drafting Bronny James, and LeBron James re-signing with the franchise, they are set to become the first father and son to play together in the NBA. That historical moment will undoubtedly take place at some point this season, but it is highly unlikely to be a regular occurrence.
Bronny has always been viewed as a developmental project, with head coach JJ Redick saying as much during the introductory press conference for him and first-round pick Dalton Knecht. And Bronny seems likely to spend much of his rookie season in the G League.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski in an appearance on SportsCenter, Bronny is expected to be with the South Bay Lakers for most of the season and aside from a likely early season appearance, there are no expectations for him to be in the rotation:
“Well, what the Lakers’ expectations are is he’ll largely be a G League player like almost any 19-year-old player coming into the league drafted in the second round. What you’ll ultimately probably see is Bronny James in the first week of the season on the court with his father in a very – I don’t want to call it ceremonial, but the eyes of the world will be on that. They’ll do that the first week of the season, but there’s no expectation Bronny is going to be in the Lakers’ rotation.”
This shouldn’t come as any surprise. Many second-round picks spend most of their time in the G League, especially late draft picks such as Bronny who went 55th overall. As Redick noted when talking about him, Bronny has a good foundation and some great tools to build on and earned his draft selection. But he is a developmental player who needs time to grow into the player he could eventually become.
Being the son of LeBron James doesn’t change that fact and while the two will share a very special moment together on the court, the Lakers are still looking to compete and Bronny likely isn’t ready to help with that just yet.
Bronny James named to Lakers Summer League roster
One place where Bronny James will be able to get plenty of playing time is during Summer League as the Lakers will take part in both the Las Vegas Summer League as well as the California Classic and the second-round pick will be part of a roster with a number of intriguing pieces.
Both Bronny James and first-round pick Dalton Knecht were named to the roster, as was last year’s second-round pick Maxwell Lewis and big man Colin Castleton who spent most of last season on a two-way contract with the Lakers. New two-way players Blake Hinson and Armel Traore were also named to the roster, which takes the court for the first time on July 6.
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