Entering his third NBA season, Bronny James is battling to be part of head coach JJ Redick‘s rotation.
James hasn’t had a very good preseason, with more turnovers (12) than points (11) after four games. He had another rough outing on Tuesday in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 101-89 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas.
The second-generation guard went scoreless in 10 minutes, committing four turnovers. He played in the fourth quarter when the Warriors completed their 20-point comeback win.
JJ Redick’s Concerning Message About Bronny
Speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s game, Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked about Bronny James’ preseason performances. Redick acknowledged James’ struggles before praising his work rate in practice.
“I don’t think he’s played well in the four preseason games, but he’s had good practices,” Redick said. “Again, some of it’s just rhythm, some of it’s who he’s playing with, right? He’s played a lot of minutes, especially in the second half of games with our two-way guys. Tonight he played with Rafael (Castro) who’s been with us for three days.”
“The group he’s with, I think, is not necessarily setting him up for success,” the coach added. “But again, the Chris (Manon) thing, we wanted to get that look. Like I said, one of those three guys (two-way players) are going to get opportunities to play.”
Bronny has one more preseason game to impress Redick. The Lakers will host the Denver Nuggets on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.
Why Are Redick’s Comments Concerning?
For Bronny James, he’s not going to be a backup with the way he’s been playing in the preseason. He would likely have a hard time cracking the rotation, possibly spending time in the NBA G League.
As for the Chris Manon thing, Redick is seemingly fond of the two-way player. He spoke highly of the 24-year-old guard after the Lakers’ preseason win over the Sacramento Kings last Thursday.
“I really like Chris,” Redick said via Silver Screen and Roll. “We had him in for a draft workout. I think we maybe had him in for two draft workouts. … We’re invested in him and we’re invested in his development, in his career. I thought he played really well against Sacramento.”
While Manon hasn’t taken over in the preseason, there’s a chance he’ll have more minutes than Bronny at the start of the campaign.
With Collin Sexton currently dealing with a lower left leg injury, there could be more playing time for the backup guards like Manon, Bronny, Jaden Hardy and Cameron Carr.
According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Sexton could miss the start of the season.
JJ Redick Sends Concerning Bronny James Message Ahead of Season Opener