Through the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first nine games of the 2026-27 NBA season, third-year guard Bronny James has played in just 12 minutes and scored only four points, firmly sitting outside the team’s typical rotation and consistently being mentioned as a potential trade candidate or someone who could get waived from the roster.
While in the past James has shown the smallest glimpses of becoming an NBA-caliber player, that hasn’t been the case this season. He’s only played in garbage time for the Lakers, and it’s pretty clear head coach JJ Redick doesn’t see him as a part of the team’s winning formula.
However, James is still on the roster, and until he is traded or waived, the young guard might have a few things he can do to keep his NBA career in Los Angeles alive.
Bronny James Should Watch Defensive Menace To Save His Job
Writing for LakeShowLife.com, both Collin Keane and Tyler Watts offered two particular ways James could get back into the rotation for the Lakers, or at least save himself from getting traded or waived sometime in the next few months.
For Keane, he believes James should follow in the footsteps of Miami Heat point guard Davion Mitchell. The son of LeBron James might not be best suited for a ball-handling and playmaking role, but he’s shown potential on defense, and that might be the best direction for him to prove his worth to Redick and the Lakers’ front office to keep his job.
“Mitchell has a lot in common with Bronny from a physical standpoint, which is one reason why this is a good comparison. At 6-foot-nothing, Mitchell is vertically challenged, but he makes up for it with extreme quickness and strength. The 28-year-old former lottery pick has always been an elite defender (he was Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in college), and he’s improved his offense throughout his NBA career considerably,” he wrote.
“Mitchell is living evidence that small guards are not completely extinct in the NBA, so long as you defend like a bulldog, hold your own physically, knock down 3s, and take care of the basketball…Bronny can become just as good a shooter as Mitchell currently is, and Bronny also has a bit of a size advantage. The areas of improvement are mental toughness, confidence, and the aforementioned ball-handling/decision-making element.”
Throughout his time with the Lakers, James hasn’t been the best shooter. However, as Keane mentioned, that’s an area of the game he can work on. If the 22-year-old can be a consistent spot-up shooter who isn’t a liability with the ball in his hands, that could be his pathway to staying in town. Mitchell, like James, is undersized and might be the perfect player for the young guard to follow to avoid getting traded or waived.
Miami’s starting point guard is currently having the best season of his young career, and while it might be tough for James to recreate everything that makes him valuable for the Heat, he is a clear example that making smart decisions with the basketball and going hard on defense might be a direct route to more playing time with the Lakers.
Lakers Young Guard Needs To Impress Coach To Avoid Trade Or Getting Waived
Additionally, as Watts wrote, James needs to regain Redick’s trust in order to get back into the rotation on a consistent basis.
“Redick can’t even trust Bronny in garbage time. The 22-year-old is buried at the end of the bench and appears to be the 15th man on the roster. Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero are the only two players with fewer minutes than James, and both have missed time with injury. Bronny has to rebuild Redick’s trust to have any shot at playing,” he stated. “Being unable to execute in garbage time is an even bigger problem. If Bronny can’t be trusted with the game virtually in hand, there is no way Redick will put him in the rotation. James has to step up whenever his number is called to earn that trust back.”
With that comes the shooting and ball-handling, as those are the two areas of the game James needs to improve to keep playing in Los Angeles. His defense remains solid, but he’s still small, so carrying his weight on the offensive end of the floor when the Lakers’ other stars are out might be the best way for him to show his value.
“I don’t think he’s played well in the four preseason games, but he’s had good practices.”
James has 11 points and 12 turnovers in four preseason games so far.
Redick now feels comfortable speaking honestly
“Bronny James has to embrace his role every time he takes the floor to regain JJ Redick’s trust. The Los Angeles Lakers picked up his team option and kept him over Dalton Knecht,” Watts added. “They see a future. Bronny needs to continue his development and impact the team’s success. He can score zero points and still be productive. James, being a factor in his role, will earn back the trust and make him a long-term piece in LA.”
James is averaging just 0.8 points in 2.4 minutes through five appearances so far this season. Before the year, there was buzz about him getting waived or traded, as it was all but certain he’d be in a similar end-of-the-bench position, which he finds himself in now.
“The reality is that James is unlikely to see significant minutes,” Timothy Rapp added on James’ Lakers outlook before the season. “Dončić, Reaves, Grimes and Sexton can all handle playmaking duties, and mixing and matching the team’s various wing options will likely be a bigger priority than getting James much work in the rotation.”
“While James making the roster over Knecht may feel like a vote of confidence from head coach JJ Redick and the front office, it’s just as likely that the Lakers felt Knecht was no longer a fit and needed a change of scenery.”
Lakers reporter Jovan Buha has stated James is the most likely player to get waived if the team is looking to add talent through free agency, and while he could also be included in a trade, he’d be a throw-in to add value for a smaller-market franchise rather than a true on-court asset.
For the time being, the pressure is only growing on James to perform, as he could very well get traded or waived if he doesn’t show improvement.
Bronny James Gets Firm Roadmap To Avoid Lakers Trade, Roster Cut