For a player who has only played sparingly, Los Angeles Lakers second-year guard Bronny James has a lot of name recognition. As the son of star LeBron James, that has been both a gift and a curse.
He might have made the NBA without being the son of LeBron but almost certainly not gotten a guaranteed contract, a rarity for a late second-round pick. Of course, despite being well known, he has seen his play decrease in recent weeks.
He previously started a game about a month ago for the Lakers but has since been playing mostly in blowout wins and losses—mostly losses recently. That suggests that coach JJ Redick doesn't trust him, and that is even with them in desperate need of a shakeup.
Lakers coach JJ Redick doesn't trust Bronny James
In theory, Bronny should be seeing the floor given his athleticism and length, but he simply hasn't made much of an impact. Even when playing in the G League, Bronny hasn't turned heads.
He's averaged just 11.0 points and 4.6 assists in 30.9 minutes per game while shooting only 41.3 percent from the field and 29.5% on 3-point attempts. Him failing to dominate in the G League as a second-year player is a huge redflag and suggests that Redick is right not to give Bronny a second look.
So what does that mean for Bronny's future with the Lakers? With him failing to crack the rotation in his second season or even play well in the G League, it's hard to imagine that he would have much of a future in Los Angeles.
This may be LeBron's final season with the Lakers or in the NBA in general. As a result, the Lakers may have little reason to keep Bronny beyond this season even though his salary of $1.1 million is guaranteed for next year.
Bronny James may not be on the Lakers for much longer
Redick is both a transparent and opinionated coach, and everything he has done in recent weeks suggests that Bronny doesn't have a future in L.A. Worse yet, with the Lakers struggling, Redick may opt to shorten his rotations, not expand them.
That means fewer opportunities for Bronny to prove himself. And even if he had those opportunities, it seems like a long shot that he would make an impact if he failed to do so in the G League.
More likely, with Bronny in Redick's doghouse, he and LeBron will play out the season with the Lakers. As a result, both will likely be playing elsewhere next year in sort of a package deal.