Through the first five games of the Los Angeles Lakers season, third-year guard Bronny James has played a total of just seven minutes and scored only two points.
James has always been at the end of the bench for the Lakers, but in what is expected to be the biggest ‘prove it’ season of his career, the young guard hasn’t done enough so far to show why he deserves to stay on the roster.
With that, the trade rumors and potential roster cut buzz surrounding James have only grown. While there was an expectation he would get playing time for the Lakers this season, his numbers so far this year are down from both his rookie and sophomore seasons, which could be a signal he’s not going to be playing in the Purple and Gold very much longer.
Bronny James Dealt Brutal Blow To Begin Lakers Season
As mentioned, James has played in just one of the Lakers’ first five games of the year, and only saw limited action.
The seven minutes and two points in 2026 are drastically different from James’ output his first two seasons in the league. His rookie year, LeBron James‘ son had played in two games by this point in the year, and while his numbers weren’t much better, he was at least getting on the court more. Last season, James had appeared in three games by this point, with a combined 28 minutes on the floor.
With his father now gone, despite his guaranteed contract for this season, it’s quickly becoming clear Lakers head coach JJ Redick doesn’t see James as a part of the rotation.
“I don’t think he’s played well in the four preseason games, but he’s had good practices.”
(h/t @TheNBABase )
“The Los Angeles Lakers dominated the Los Angeles Clippers 103-87 without Luka Doncic and three other players, and Bronny James still couldn’t get on the floor,” Tyler Watts recently wrote after the team’s latest game. “Bronny did get 6.7 minutes in garbage time of the season opener, but he hasn’t played since. The Lakers were without their superstar on the second night of a back-to-back and didn’t find a second for James. Hardy got nine minutes and was in the rotation. Bronny is nowhere near an opportunity in a close game.”
Despite the Lakers putting in some great showing to begin the season, opening up some end-of-game minutes for James, he hasn’t gotten any playing time since the season opener, a difference from his first two seasons.
“The purple and gold were up 19 entering the fourth quarter and won by 16. It wasn’t a close game late. Redick didn’t have much of a bench to empty with two starters sidelined, but it was a blowout. Still, there was no playing time for Bronny,” Watts added on the win over the Clippers. “It is fair to question the 22-year-old’s future with the franchise. They should have moved on before the regular season opener if they had no plans for playing or developing Bronny.”
James had a poor preseason showing, and as time goes on, it doesn’t look like he’ll get consistent minutes throughout the year. With that, the trade rumors and potential roster cut buzz have only grown since the start of the year, which doesn’t bode well for the third-year guard still trying to cement himself as an NBA-caliber player.
Trade Rumors And Roster Cut Buzz Continue To Follow LA’s Young Guard
Amid James’ lack of playing time, he’s been constantly mentioned as someone the Lakers could package in a trade for a roster upgrade, or even waive to make room for an available free agent.
As team reporter Jovan Buha recently said, it’s clear he’s on the chopping block, along with fellow reserve guard Jaden Hardy.
“Whatever they decide, I think something has to happen soon because they can’t keep playing this current rotation,” he said on his show, Buha’s Block. “Then it’s Hardy or Bronny. And then I think they’re gonna try to flip Hardy. So Bronny is the one who’s only making a couple million that they could potentially waive.”
“They’re in a situation where, at a minimum, I think you gotta change the two-way spots and bring in a big who can play, but potentially you do that with the back end of the roster,” Buha added.
It’s tough to decipher James’ trade value across the NBA, and while he could get waived for the Lakers to bring in a new backup center, there aren’t a ton of options available that would significantly upgrade the roster.
But as CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn recently wrote, perhaps another team could value James higher than the Lakers do right now, based on his name alone.
“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,” Sam Quinn of CBS Sports wrote in a post on X.
With that, one of the Lakers’ trade targets like Jericho Sims or Moussa Cisse could be on the board. It’s undetermined how the Milwaukee Bucks or Dallas Mavericks would value James, but it’s not a stretch to say one of those two teams could give him more playing time than he’s getting in Los Angeles right now.
As time goes on, it’s becoming clearer that James doesn’t have a future with the Lakers. If they can trade him for a roster upgrade, it’s hard not to see the front office at least entertaining that possibility. If not, the team could cut ties with the former second-round pick, and he might have to look elsewhere to continue his NBA career.
As the season evolves, the Lakers’ level of desperation for a backup center could grow, and at the same time, it only makes James’ future in Los Angeles even cloudier.
Lakers Bronny James Dealt Brutal Blow As Trade Rumors, Roster Cut Buzz Grows