Bronny James

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Bronny, Christie, Redick, Pelinka

As he prepares for his 22nd NBA season, Lakers star LeBron James appears to be energized by the chance to compete alongside his son, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. After Wednesday’s practice, Anthony Davis detailed a spirited exchange between LeBron and Bronny James during a five-on-five scrimmage.

“It’s fantastic to be able to be here and witness it in practice,” Davis said. “Bronny hit a three over him today. Everybody was talking smack in Bronny’s favor. Then Bron came down and just bullied somebody. Just took it out on (the defender) — I forgot who it was — and got a layup. Bronny came down and hit another 3, I think over Austin (Reaves). And Bron wanted the ball. So you could see, even though they weren’t matched up, the competition is there. And that’s what we love to see.”

At age 39, LeBron is coming off a long summer of basketball that culminated with a gold medal for Team USA in Paris. New head coach J.J. Redick has talked to team trainer Mike Mancias about slowly getting LeBron ready for the start of the season, but he declined to divulge any details.

“I think we have a pretty clear plan,” Redick said. “We’ll share that plan when it’s appropriate.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

  • LeBron believes third-year wing Max Christie is ready to take on a larger role this season, McMenamin adds in another story. A second-round pick in 2022, Christie received a new four-year, $32MM contract this summer. “I think for me it’s kind of just proving myself again,” Christie said. “I haven’t proven too much as a player in this league. I’ve had spurts and sporadic moments where I’ve been really good, but I want to put a whole season together. Hopefully I get the opportunity to do that this year.”
  • Redick has to balance his analytical side with his basketball instincts as he adjusts to viewing the game as a coach, observes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Although Davis believes “numbers aren’t anything,” they’re very important to Redick, who wants as much statistical data as he can get. “More information is better,” Redick said. “That’s how I … every person we’ve hired, that’s been a key thing that I’ve told them. ‘Do you want to get in the weeds?’ ‘Yeah, I do want to get in the weeds. Yeah.’ So as much info as possible.”
  • General manager Rob Pelinka had a surprisingly quiet summer in terms of personnel moves, but he indicated at a recent press conference that he’s willing to part with future first-round picks to make the Lakers better this season (hat tip to Lake Show Life). “I think the philosophy that J.J. and I are aligned on is: We want to build sustainable Lakers excellence … every lens that we look through has to lead to sustainable Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said. “So the direct answer to your question is: Yes, we would do a trade with both (available first-round draft) picks if that would lead to sustainable Lakers excellence. We would also use one pick to make a marginal upgrade if we felt it was the right thing to do.”

Lakers’ Pelinka, Redick Talk Roster, Lack Of Trades, Health, More

Addressing the media alongside head coach JJ Redick on Wednesday, Lakers executive VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said it will take about 30 or so games to properly evaluate the team’s 2024/25 roster.

The Lakers only added four outside players this offseason, bringing in Dalton Knecht and Bronny James via the draft and adding two-way players Armel Traore and Christian Koloko. The team will primarily be banking on good health luck and internal improvement to take a step forward in the Western Conference hierarchy.

We believe in this group,” Pelinka said according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).

The Lakers were in rumors revolving around Hawks guard Trae Young and other big names toward the start of the offseason, but didn’t end up pulling the trigger. If they did decide to swing for a star or role player down the line, their 2029 and 2031 first-round picks would be highly coveted.

We would do a trade with both picks if that leads to sustainable Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said, per Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina (Twitter link). “We would also use one pick to make a marginal upgrade if we felt that was the right thing to do.

Here are a few of the more interesting comments from Pelinka and Redick from today’s presser:

  • Jarred Vanderbilt underwent procedures on each of his feet this offseason, tweets The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. Pelinka said both operations were successful and he’s optimistic the forward will be ready for the start of the season. According to Pelinka, the surgeries happened at the beginning of the Lakers’ offseason. Vanderbilt had a bone spur in one foot and the doctor recommended going ahead and cleaning up the other foot since he was missing time anyways (Twitter link via Buha).
  • According to Pelinka, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino have all been cleared to participate in training camp (Twitter link via Buha). Hachimura didn’t miss much time last season, but Vincent and Hood-Schifino combined to play in just 32 games. The Lakers paid $33MM over three seasons to Vincent last year but he was limited to 11 appearances due to a knee injury. He’ll likely be relied on more this coming season.
  • Redick says he’s spoken to D’Angelo Russell more than any other Lakers player. His message to the guard, according to McMenamin (Twitter link), has been “Let’s put you in position to have a career year.” Russell averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists per game last year while making 41.5% of his three-point attempts.
  • Redick said he and his staff have already discussed the moment that LeBron James and Bronny James will first share the court in the regular season, McMenamin tweets. Redick will involve both players in the process, but doesn’t view coaching the pair as a challenge.
  • Pelinka said he thinks new two-way center Christian Koloko will be cleared by the NBA’s Fitness-to-Play Panel sooner rather than later, according to The Orange County Register’s Khobi Price (Twitter link). Koloko missed all of last season due to career-threatening blood clots.

Pacific Notes: Vanderbilt, LeBron, Bronny, Clippers, Valley Suns

The foot issue that sidelined Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt for most of last season may not have improved during the summer, analyst Mike Bresnahan said on Spectrum SportsNet’s “Lakeshow” podcast (hat tip to Lakers Nation). Vanderbilt, who became the team’s starting power forward after being acquired at the 2023 trade deadline, was limited to 29 games last season and didn’t play at all after February 1.

“Vando is gonna be interesting,” Bresnahan said. “I’m not sure he’ll be ready for training camp or even for the preseason games. It’s a foot injury. He opted not to have a procedure in-season when he got hurt in February. So we’ll see if he’s ready to go. I don’t have a lot of details on it but I’m not sure he’ll be ready for training camp. Regular season is a different story, hopefully he’s ready by then. But nothing concrete on him yet.”

Vanderbilt suffered a right midfoot sprain midway through the season and was never able to return. He received medical clearance for the final game of L.A.’s playoff series, but didn’t see any action.

The Lakers invested heavily in Vanderbilt last summer, signing him to a four-year, $48MM extension. They were counting on an offseason of rest to fix the problems with his foot, but it sounds like that didn’t go as planned. Vanderbilt was used mostly in a reserve role last season, contributing 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 20 minutes per night.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • On the latest episode of “The Shop” podcast, LeBron James talks about the thrill of being the first NBA player ever to team up with his son (hat tip to Silver Screen and Roll). The Lakers took Bronny James with a second-round pick after one season at USC. “I am so excited for training camp,” LeBron said. “Having your son work with you, it’s like the greatest thing. I can’t wait for this moment. I really cannot wait to hit the floor for him. It’s going to be pretty surreal for me. That might be the first time I sit back and, like, out of my whole career, finally get an opportunity to sit back and be like, ‘Oh s–t, this is really cool.’”
  • The Clippers are receiving $750K to hold training camp and an exhibition game in Honolulu, according to Duane Shimogawa of Island News. He cites public records showing that the Hawaiian Tourism Authority will receive several marketing opportunities with the team and will be named an official partner of the L.A. Clippers. In addition, Clippers officials will conduct several community events during camp, which begins October 1 and wraps up with a game against the Warriors October 5.
  • Brendan Sabean, general manager of the G League’s newest team, the Valley Suns, talks to PHNX Sports about the challenges of trying to assemble a roster from scratch.

Pacific Notes: Allen, Suns, Kuminga, Moody, Bronny, LeBron

Grayson Allen was outstanding during his first season with the Suns, but the experience didn’t end the way he wanted it to, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. After leading the NBA in three-point shooting at 46.1%, Allen suffered an injury during the first-round playoff series against Minnesota. He sprained his ankle in Game 1, re-injured it in Game 2 and wasn’t available for the series’ final two games.

Allen started spending time in the weight room shortly after the season ended in an effort to become stronger and more durable. He recently posted a video of himself shooting and doing weight training.

“I’ve got a strong base,” Allen said. “Now it’s moving more towards more speed and explosion, some plyometrics stuff. Moving the weight faster if it’s weighted. A lot of unweighted stuff. Working on some speed, power explosion. Trying to get back into that playing shape and be ready and in better shape. A little faster, a little stronger and be ready for October.”

Allen played for four teams in his first six NBA seasons, but his future in Phoenix appears secure after signing a four-year, $70MM extension in April. He’s focused on maximizing his role in an offense where he’s surrounded by elite scorers in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

“Getting in some of the explosive stuff to get ready to hit the court hard for training camp and preseason coming up and getting all the shots I feel I’m going to get in the season,” Allen said. “Shots I got last season playing with these guys.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

California Notes: Bronny, Post, Podziemski, Clippers

Following a pair of promising Summer League outings, Lakers rookie point guard Bronny James sat out the team’s Las Vegas finale, a 107-81 blowout of the Bulls, writes Mark Anderson of The Associated Press.

Across his last two available games, the 6’2″ USC alum scored 25 points while shooting 10-of-21 from the floor, including going a respectable 3-of-8 on three-pointers after missing all 15 of his outside attempts prior to that.

“He had two pretty good games last two,” Summer League head coach Dane Johnson said. “I think it’s just going to help him going into the summer so we can work on different things with him. Just that confidence and knowing he can play at this level. It’s still going to take a lot of time and a lot of reps.”

There’s more out of California:

  • After dealing with a leg injury, rookie Warriors big man Quinten Post had a stellar Summer League debut on Friday, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “We wanted to make sure he was healthy before he got on the floor, so he was on a minutes restriction, from 12 to 15,” assistant general manager Larry Harris told Poole. “The biggest thing we saw right away is that offensively he was what we’re hoping he can be… Moves well, can run up and down the floor and he can pass. He handles the ball for a big guy and, obviously, shoots the three well. The offensive side, we feel pretty good about.” The seven-footer was selected with the No. 52 pick out of Boston College. In a 90-83 win, Post notched 10 points while shooting 4-of-7 from the floor (2-of-4 from long range), three rebounds, one dime and one steal in just 14 minutes of action.
  • Speaking to Chris Haynes on ESPN’s Summer League broadcast on Saturday (YouTube video link), rising second-year Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski discussed Klay Thompson‘s decision to depart the team for the Mavericks in free agency. “So for me, just appreciating his presence, appreciating everything he shared with me from an on-court and off-court perspective, and getting a call from him a couple days ago and just, him telling me I’ll always have a brother in him for life is pretty cool,” the All-Rookie First Teamer said.
  • The Clippers will debut on owner Steve Ballmer‘s brand-new home court, the Intuit Dome, at the start of the 2024/25 season. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN revealed details of the new $2 billion arena, which includes a state-of-the-art video halo called the “Halo Board.” Ballmer is looking forward to having far more scheduling flexibility than he had previously experienced while sharing space with the Lakers and the NHL’s L.A. Kings at Crypto.com Arena. “We got to build a place that is our house,” Ballmer said. “We got to put the energy in our house. We didn’t want to play too many Monday nights against Monday Night Football. We don’t want to play as many Saturday games.”

Pacific Notes: Plowden, Bronny, Stotts, Stackhouse, Ishbia

When the Warriors were reviewing videos of players to decide who to invite to their free agent mini-camp, Daeqwon Plowden stood out right away, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. The 25-year-old shooting guard, who signed a two-way contract with the team on Tuesday, was going full speed and giving maximum effort in all of his film clips.

He won a spot on Golden State’s Summer League team, where he’s continuing to impress the organization, averaging 16.6 points per game while shooting 48.1% from three-point range and playing physical defense. Plowden wants to prove he’s “a winner,” and he sounds ready to use his opportunity with the Warriors as a learning experience.

“Throughout the year, I really just want to learn how to be a better pro,” he said. “This is one of the premier organizations. They’ve got some high-level guys. Some high-level characters. I want to learn how to be a better pro, whether that be for here … or wherever I end up winding up.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Bronny James had his best outing in the Summer League on Wednesday as the Lakers pulled out a one-point win over Atlanta. He had 12 points and made two 3-pointers after going 0-for-15 from the beyond the arc in his first four games. “I feel like I know the right way to play. So if I go out there and play my game every game, results like that will come,” he told Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
  • Warriors coach Steve Kerr wanted to tweak his offense, which is a major reason why he decided to hire Terry Stotts as his lead assistant. “He fits what we want to do and get a little bit more patterned,” Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “He loves movement. Portland, you know, they always had a lot of motion and movement, but it was probably more patterned than what we’ve done. Terry can really help us put in some new things that may be easier to run but maintain the motion.” Jerry Stackhouse, who has also been added to the staff, will bring a former player’s perspective. “Just feel like we needed Jerry,” Kerr said. “We have a lot of young players. … There’s something about a former player where those guys can tell our players, ‘I’ve been there, I’ve done this. I know exactly what you’re going through.’ Jerry did it on a really high level, but he’s also coached at a high level. That meant a lot to me.” Golden State has yet to officially announce those coaching hires.
  • Suns owner Mat Ishbia said during an NBA TV interview that he believes his team is primed for a deep playoff run, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic relays. “First year, we didn’t get to where we wanted to be,” Ishbia said. “Second year, we’re going to see and we’re going to go out there and compete. I love those guys. I love the pieces, (Jusuf) Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale. We’ve got a lot of pieces. Bol Bol is back. We’ve got a lot of great pieces, but you’ve got to win. If you don’t win in the playoffs, people are going to talk about you. That’s an honor that they talk about us ’cause it’s high expectations. We’ve got to get there. We’re going to try this year again.”

Dana Gauruder contributed to this report.

L.A. Notes: Bronny, Redick, Miller, A. Johnson

After a rough start to his NBA career in Summer League play, Lakers guard Bronny James may begin the upcoming season in the G League, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James was in the spotlight on Friday during his first game in Las Vegas, where a partisan Lakers crowd cheered every positive thing he did. However, the shooting woes he experienced during the California Classic continued, as he was held to eight points while going 3-of-14 from the field and missing all eight of his three-point attempts.

“I’m just looking forward to any basketball I play, no matter what level I’m playing at,” James responded when asked about the possibility of playing in the G League.

McMenamin notes that James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, seemed opposed to a G League assignment when he warned teams not to draft his client if they planned to offer a two-way contract. James received a standard four-year deal from L.A., but he may need time to develop his game before being ready for the NBA.

Summer League coach Dane Johnson, who also guides the South Bay Lakers, indicated that no discussions have taken place about where James will start the season.

“I don’t know about that yet, so I can’t really comment on that,” Johnson told reporters. “But I think all these guys are going to be in the G League at some point — the draftees.”

There’s more on the two L.A. teams:

  • J.J. Redick joined his former ESPN broadcast partners during Friday’s game to explain why he decided to become the Lakers‘ head coach, relays Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll. Redick said he felt a “calling to coach” and he wanted to test himself in a “high stakes, high pressure” environment. “The other part of it is,” Redick added, “in my retirement, I realized what gives me fulfillment and what gives me drive and motivation and that’s competition, that’s performance, that’s collaboration, being part of a team … the other parts of that are leadership and service. I said this in my press conference, like a big driving factor in this for me is I just want to help people. I want to help players. I want to help coaches. I want to empower people. I, obviously, want to help this Lakers organization get back to the top.”
  • After scoring 36 points Friday night, Jordan Miller said his goal is to earn a standard contract with the Clippers, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old wing played on a two-way deal last season and earned All-Rookie honors in the G League.
  • Long-time NBA player Amir Johnson is working with the Clippers this summer to help develop the team’s prospects, Murray tweets.

Pacific Notes: Lue, George, Leonard, Podziemski, Kerr, Ellis

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue had multiple conversations with Paul George with the hope that the nine-time All-Star would stay in Los Angeles. Lue, an assistant coach for Team USA, expressed frustration that George chose to leave for Philadelphia as a free agent, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.

“You lose an important piece to the team like PG, it’s hard to replace,” Lue said. “I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to get the deal done, disappointed he didn’t come back. It’s tough for the organization. We got to see how we move forward from here. I talked to him many times, trying to see what his mindset was, what we need to do different, how we can help his process along. It’s unfortunate that he left.”

Kawhi Leonard was well aware of how the extension talks between George and the front office broke down, so he wasn’t caught off guard by his star teammate’s exit.

“We knew what it was before the season,” Leonard said. “We knew what it was going to come down to. So, we talked the whole way through. It’s no surprise.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Heading into his second season with the Warriors, Brandin Podziemski told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda that he has lofty goals. “Individually, I want to be able to be in the conversation and win Most Improved Player of the Year,”  he said. “I want to partake in the Rising Stars game again because it’s in San Francisco next season. I want to participate in the Skills Challenge. That would be fun. Then I want to put my name up there as an up-and-coming star of the league. I’m ready to make the year two jump. As far as team goals, obviously you want to win a title.”
  • Coach Steve Kerr is impressed with how Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. recovered from the loss of Klay Thompson by acquiring the services of free agents Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “To rebound from losing Chris (Paul) and then Klay, and then using the cap to his advantage – he and his group have done a great job,” Kerr said. “We’ve signed three really good players, managed our finances really well and Mike is wonderful at his job in every regard. He’s a great partner, too, through these difficult times. Great guy to be able to lean on.”
  • Boogie Ellis is playing for the Kings’ Summer League team after going undrafted out of USC. Ellis led the Trojans in scoring and is trying to earn an NBA contract. Meanwhile, Bronny James got drafted by the Lakers despite posting modest stats at USC. However, Ellis has no hard feelings for his former college teammate, he told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “I’m happy for him,” Ellis said. “That’s one of my brothers, so I’m glad he got the opportunity, but at the end of the day this is business. Everybody’s trying to feed their family, so I definitely have a chip on my shoulder. I believe I’m a great basketball player and I’m better than a lot the guys who were picked, but at the end of the day I’ve got to go show my hard work, show what I do. So just continue to work, keep my head down and keep working, and it’s going to pay off.”

LeBron Was Willing To Give Bigger Discount For Impact Player

LeBron James took less than the maximum in his latest two-year contract with the Lakers in order to give the front office more financial flexibility. He cited his strong “working relationship” with the club in an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“We are in a relationship and anybody knows relationships, [knows that] it’s all about committing,” James said. “It’s also about doing things to help both sides. So, we’ve been in a working relationship going on seven years … so that’s what it’s about.”

According to McMenamin, James left nearly $3MM on the table in order to help L.A. avoid the second tax apron. James, who opted out of his previous contract prior to free agency, signed his two-year pact over the weekend.

Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, James’agent, told McMenamin that James was willing to take even less money to open up the $12.9MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception for the Lakers to use to try to sign an “impact player.” The players that they hoped could be attainable for the mid-level or via sign-and-trade included Klay Thompson, James Harden, Jonas Valanciunas and DeMar DeRozan. The Lakers weren’t able to land any of them.

“It takes two to tango,” James said. “I think our front office, our coaching staff, they tried to do the job that they wanted to do or tried to get guys to come and it didn’t happen. And that’s OK. That’s part of the business. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that sometimes it happens, sometimes it don’t. So we don’t sit here and lie about or cry about it. We move on and Klay’s a great player. Obviously DeMar’s a great player. Valanciunas was one of those guys who ended up going to Washington, was someone that was in talks with us, but we move on to see how we continue to get better.”

Unless they make a trade down the road, Lakers are basically running it back with virtually the same roster. Yet, James isn’t discouraged.

“We’ve done it before and we still have two guys who commit every single day with myself and (Anthony Davis). We commit to excellence and commit to win,” he said. “And we feel like any situation, any given year, we can put ourselves in a position to be able to succeed. And we’re not that far off. We were one year removed from the Western Conference Finals. Obviously, this year it didn’t go as well this past year. Didn’t go as well as we would like, but we’re not that far off.”

Of course, James has another reason to feel good about the front office. The Lakers drafted son Bronny James in the second round, which touched off a wave of criticism that he was undeserving of being selected. However, LeBron says his son simply ignores the outside noise.

“I don’t know if people really understand Bronny,” he said. “He doesn’t care. I actually care a little bit. When I came in [as a rookie], I wanted people to like me and some of the things that people were saying about me kind of bothered me early on in my career. … He doesn’t give a (bleep). He does not care about nobody. He doesn’t even listen to that stuff. He’s like the coolest. He’s like the complete opposite of his dad.

Lakers Notes: Bronny, Knecht, LeBron, Redick, St. Jean

Bronny James had an uneven debut with the Lakers on Saturday at the California Classic summer league, writes Anthony De Leon of The Los Angeles Times. The 55th overall pick of last month’s draft, James finished with four points (on 2-of-9 shooting), two assists, two rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes.

Overall [I need to] just be aggressive, believe in myself and know that I can make plays for myself and my teammates,” James said. “Playing my game on the defensive end, especially because I believe I know how to play.”

He’s going to play — granted, if he’s healthy — throughout this whole thing,” summer league coach Dane Johnson said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We’re going to try to integrate him and try to get him as many reps as we can. Because he needs more experience playing. And especially the NBA game. It’s a little different than college, so getting reps in the NBA, in an NBA setting with good players will help him in the long run.”

First-rounder Dalton Knecht also showed signs of rust, De Leon notes, putting up 12 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals, but going just 3-of-12 from the floor in 26 minutes. The Lakers lost to the Kings by 14 points.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

  • ESPN insiders McMenamin, Kendra Andrews and Baxter Holmes provide their takeaways from Bronny’s debut.
  • LeBron James was ecstatic that the Lakers drafted his son Bronny, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “For me to see my son to be able to, you know, be in the NBA alone. I mean, it’s always been a dream of his and for us to be side by side … there’s a loss of words, to be honest,” LeBron said after his first practice with Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics.”I mean, the kid has worked so hard to get back to this point. There’s just so much that’s happened over the last year with him to have this happen less than a year from his incident to be with our friends and our family. When they announced his name, it was something that was super surreal, and it’s kind of still, our family still don’t even have enough words to explain the feeling that we had.” Both LeBron and Anthony Davis — another member of Team USA — were optimistic about the hiring of J.J. Redick as head coach, Bontemps adds.
  • Replacing Darvin Ham with Redick has been the Lakers’ biggest offseason move to this point. Will a new coach be enough to improve a team with a roster that’s mostly the same as 2023/24? Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group explores that topic.
  • The Lakers are hiring Greg St. Jean as an assistant coach on Redick’s staff, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). St. Jean, who was an assistant in L.A. when the Lakers won the title in 2020, has worked for Dallas and Phoenix in recent seasons, Scotto notes.