“Bronny (James) is a key component of our player development program, and we’re committed to helping him succeed.” Having joined the Lakers as the new boss, JJ Redick made LeBron’s son one of his main priorities for the off-season. Despite being the 55th pick, his performance at USC and the Summer League showed that he still has a long way to go, before competitively standing out. With reports claiming that Bronny will spend major time in the G League, he is looking to put into practice a tweak in the LA mindset.

Lakers GM, Rob Pelinka, told ESPN LA, “The overall goal or vision for Bronny, the mentality of JJ (Redick) and our coaching staff is sort of ‘eat what you kill.’ And so, I think training camps going to answer questions. ‘Who are the guys that are going to emerge?’ We don’t want to project a 6-month plan without kind of seeing it unfold, and being open to every player on what their role will be on the team.”

This means that even though Bronny may not get the chance to play alongside his father during the first few Lakers games, the team management will not choose to rule him out for the entire season. Instead, they will look at his progress with their ‘South Bay Lakers development system,’ which Rob Relinka and Co. “feel strongly about,” and then make a final decision. However, to prove that he is ready, the young gun will have to adopt a ‘every man for himself’ mentality, a ‘survivor’ persona.

If the Summer League proved anything, it is that there are better options that the Lakers can use instead of LeBron’s eldest son. After all, Dalton Knecht, the 17th overall pick of the 2024 NBA draft, finished fifth in scoring and first amongst other rookies by securing an average score of 21.3 points. He made 19 or more points in all 3 games at Las Vegas by shooting 41.8% from the field, and making 39.1% successful three-pointers.

The franchise also recently signed Christian Koloko to a two-way contract. The player was being built up for his offensive stats and the fact that he holds a 7’5″ wingspan, slightly lower than Anthony Davis’ 7’6″. With the South Bay Lakers also acquiring the returning player rights of Chris Silva and Jake Stephens a few days ago, the competition for Bronny is only increasing.

With a few days remaining until pre-season, the 19-year-old will need to prove that he has what it takes to make the main lineup. After all, whatever he has managed to do till now, hasn’t made the new boss fully confident about giving him the bigger role.

JJ Redick isn’t sure when Bronny and LeBron James can team up on the NBA court: “Don’t want to commit to anything right now”

For many years prior to Bronny’s entry into the NBA, LeBron James had expressed his wish to play alongside his eldest. Now, with both players being in the same franchise, all that remains is to pair them up. With LeBron still being at the peak of his game, the only thing preventing this was if his son isn’t ready to face the competition. Redick seemed to indicate the same through his recent remarks.

“People will ask, obviously, about Bronny, and sort of what he’s like as a player and all that stuff, but in terms of that moment, yeah we’ve talked about it, and we’ve thought about it, and we’ll get it done,” JJ said when discussing the Bronny-LeBron team-up on Zach Lowe’s pod. “I don’t want to commit to anything right now. That’s going to happen. It’s going to happen sooner rather than later.”

In spite of this, JJ Redick is doing his best to motivate the young star up whenever he can. During the recent pre-season press conference with Rob Pelinka, he revealed, “I feel very fortunate that I get to coach him because he’s young and he’s hungry, and he’s got a lot of inherent skill sets that we can really mold into a really good NBA player.”

There’s been a big gap between the Summer League and pre-season, allowing ample time for him to improve. However, is a few months enough to cover what the last few years couldn’t have? Additionally, if the Lakers were willing to take in Bronny to fulfill his father’s wish, they could chance it and include him in the main roster for the first few games as well. Why not?

With LeBron James and others handling the offensive front, his eldest could simply be allowed to focus on defense, or passing. However, if he doesn’t do well, the critics, who are already on Bronny’s back, will further drive the ‘nepotism’ or ‘lucky’ narrative.

In summary, Bronny James’ future is unpredictable, and anything can happen.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.