The Lakers have been serious about their ‘player development’ plans starting this upcoming season. They signed 21-year-old Max Christie to a four-year deal, while placing a lot of hope in rookie Dalton Knecht, and are quite confident with Bronny James’ potential. This offseason, instead of bringing in superstars, the Lakers have looked to train their young guns. Adrian Wojnarowski believes that the LA side is finalizing a deal with ‘holistic approach-focused’ Zach Guthrie to coach their G-league affiliate, South Bay Lakers.

Guthrie was an assistant coach in Utah, Dallas, and Washington before signing with the Lakers. Zach primarily focused on developing younger players back when he worked under Quin Snyder. From 2016-20, Guthrie was part of Snyder’s team and then joined the Mavs‘ Rick Carlisle’s coaching staff. The following year, he assisted Wes Unseld Jr. in Washington, where he spent his last 3 years.

He has also helped players like Donovan Mitchell during his stint with the Jazz. Not to mention, the Utah side was a tough playoff contender back then. His resume and experience in player development are best suited for JJ Redick’s unchallenged philosophy to promote younger talent. Now, there have been talks about Bronny James playing more minutes in the G-League than with the Lakers, in his rookie season. If that is the case, Guthrie will definitely be of great help to LeBron’s son, along with the other young guns.

There is no doubt that G-League players will take time to become the best versions of themselves. Regardless, Bronny James will need a lot of assistance to kick-start his NBA career, and playing for the South Bay Lakers under focused guidance can turn out to be his path to success.

 How can Zach Guthrie help Bronny James?

Coming into the league after his freshman year at USC, Bronny’s strongest points would include his defense and playmaking. Of course, LeBron James‘ son is a shooting guard, but hasn’t been efficient from the field in college, shooting just 26.7% from three in college. Other than that, the 19-year-old will also face challenges while adapting to the game’s pace. This is where Zach Guthrie comes in. The visionary will look to boost the rookie’s confidence and help him in certain aspects of his game.

Individually, Guthrie can guide several players, but the real task is transitioning the player’s talent to a 5-on-5 scenario. But to begin with, Zach likes to take 1-on-1 sessions. “We want to have these boutique, 1-on-1 sessions. Everything’s about (the player) and his development and his growth. But you have to understand how that transfers to the team, to the 5-on-5 element. We take so much of this out of context and we get so lost in this individual skill when it’s about how does it transfer to the team and how can we get as much team growth as possible… That’s what I mean by the holistic approach,” he told Chris Oliver from Basketball Immersion.

Now, Bronny can manage guarding the perimeter himself. He can also read plays quite well. But the one thing that is missing from his game would be consistency. Having helped guys like Mitchell and Gobert, the new coach will look to prioritize training the youngsters to ultimately complement and help the veterans on the Lakers roster.

What are your thoughts on the Lakers’ latest hire? Do you think Zach Guthrie can help Bronny James become a better player? Let us know in the comments.

Feel that you can do with another update from the sport of basketball? Then do check out this recent interview with the up-and-coming Georgia Lady Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.