There has been a school of thought that Bronny James doesn’t have a future with the Los Angeles Lakers and that it is virtually a lock that the 21-year-old guard will be traded to the team his father, LeBron, signs with in free agency this summer.
But Dan Woike of The Athletic recently wrote that the younger James is well-liked within the organization and that “assumptions that the father and son staying linked going forward are false.” On top of that report, Khobi Price of the California Post went on “Brock & Alex” of 97.1 The Fan LA and said that it would take “something real” for Los Angeles to want to trade the younger James (h/t BasketNews).
“If LeBron chooses X team, what if X team is willing to send the Lakers, I don’t know, a second-round pick for Bronny James? That would automatically make Bronny James the most likely player to go there. Now, what I want to make clear is that the Lakers are more than happy to keep Bronny James,” the Lakers reporter said.
“They drafted him in the second round two years ago, they developed him, and they’re a fan of him. He has a lot of people who like him within the building. So, it’s not going to be one of those situations where they’re just going to send Bronny to wherever LeBron goes. It would take something real for the Lakers to want to trade him.”
The University of Southern California product showed a bit of improvement this past season, which was his second in the NBA, and averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 assists in 8.9 minutes a game. He shot 38.6% from 3-point range versus 28.1% as a rookie, and after Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down with injuries in early April, he had a few decent outings off the bench.
But he isn’t deserving of a spot in a good team’s regular rotation, at least not yet. The Lakers have solid guard depth with players such as Doncic, Reaves, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Jaden Hardy and rookie Cameron Carr, so even if the younger James makes major strides, it will be very difficult for him to get any meaningful playing time.
Right now, he may be most valuable to the team as an asset that could fetch at least one second-round draft pick in a trade.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Reporter on what it would take for Lakers to trade Bronny James
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
