Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday, breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we look at Bronny James.
After much pomp and circumstance about him being drafted, Bronny James’ rookie season was a fairly standard one for a late second-round pick. He showcased how much he had developed in the background during Summer League when he was the best player on the Lakers’
roster in Las Vegas.
However, while he’s definitely taken clear steps forward, are they enough for him to be a legitimate contributor with the Lakers this season? While the path in front of him hasn’t cleared much on the depth chart, he offers a skillset that no one else at his position does.
Is that enough to help him become a fixture in the rotation this season?
What is his best-case scenario?
Bronny’s improved, confident play this summer is just the tip of the iceberg. After showing that he belongs during Summer League, Bronny enters the season assured of himself, which sets him up for a strong training camp and preseason.
While there are still plenty of ballhandlers and guards ahead of him in the roster, he will likely move up to Shake Milton’s spot as the first guard out of the rotation. In his limited time early, he continues to impress with his defense and ability to knock down open shots.
Eventually, that makes the Lakers more comfortable moving a player like Gabe Vincent without getting a guard in return with the team comfortable to give his minutes to Bronny. By the end of the season, Bronny is capable of playing 15 minutes per night with stints in each half of the game.
What is his worst-case scenario?
Unfortunately, while he looked good in Summer League, that isn’t able to translate against actual NBA teams.
Developed as an on-ball players, the minutes just aren’t regularly there for Bronny to get minutes in games. And when he does see the floor, his jumper and offensive game still isn’t far enough along to warrant regular time on the court.
Defensively, the speed of NBA guards is still a bit much for him and he continues to struggle on that end of the floor. Without a clear area he can impact the game, head coach JJ Redick finds it hard to give him any sort of playing time during the regular season.
Instead, by the middle of the season, he’s back in the G League playing with South Bay. While it was clear he was going to be a multi-year project when the Lakers drafted him, being unable to stay on the floor through his second season raises concerns about his long-term future with the Lakers and in the NBA.
What is his most likely role on the team?
It’s pretty simple to see, at least early on, what role Bronny might take this season. With Shake Milton departing and the team not directly replacing him with a signing, Bronny could step in as the next best guard out of the rotation.
That means when injuries strike or the team is looking to shake things up in a game, Bronny is the one they call on. It’s not consistent minutes on the floor, at least to start the year, but it’s also more minutes than he was getting last season.
The challenge for him will be to impress enough during that playing time to warrant him continuing to get minutes and possibly even earn more. What he showed in the summer with his ability to create his shot and knock down threes is going to be key as to whether he’ll be able to succeed this season.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
