With the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason now over, it looks like they will keep guard Bronny James despite his lackluster play. Bronny, of course, is the son of former Laker LeBron James, and many believe the team drafted him simply to appease him.
However, LeBron is now with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Bronny has done little to show that he's deserving of staying with the Lakers. In fact, in the preseason he had just 12 points but also had 11 turnovers in four games and didn't show noticeable improvement on either end of the floor.
If I were the Lakers, I'd be trying to trade Bronny right now to some owner who wants to sell some jerseys. I'd rather keep Knecht on the books as possible trade salary than cut him and deal with dead money. The Lakers don't really need the James brand like other teams do. https://t.co/VFf6p5EA15
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) October 17, 2026
As Yahoo Sports' Sam Quinn points out, he isn't good enough on either end, and the Lakers are wasting a roster spot on him. Despite that, Bronny will be on the Lakers' opening night roster after surviving the final cut.
The Lakers are officially wasting a roster spot on Bronny James
Bronny making the team is largely due to him having a guaranteed contract, which is incredibly rare for a late second-round pick. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Dalton Knecht, who was due to be paid more this season than Bronny will earn on his rookie contract, was just cut.
Neither player is good, but the Lakers are likely regretting giving Bronny a four-year guaranteed contract. It begs the question why they didn't try to trade him to the Sixers when they signed LeBron.
That seems like a missed opportunity to get rid of a player who clearly isn't deserving of a roster spot. Heck, they could have picked up a second-round pick for their troubles.
The Lakers missed their chance to get rid of Bronny James
He likely won't factor in that much with the Lakers having a roster talented enough to potentially offset any negative impact of having Bronny. Still, their decision to give him a guaranteed contract remains baffling.
With the Lakers set to start the regular season, they should instead focus on their new players. They have nine new players to go around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
That gives them potential to build a better team around their two best players. However, there are still plenty of question marks besides Bronny. They may not be talented enough defensively to hang with the best teams in the Western Conference.
That being said, they could have a top-five offense, which could be enough to net them a top four seed in the West. Still, having Bronny on the roster to start this season seems like an odd choice.
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