Third-year NBA guard Bronny James of the Los Angeles Lakers was a topic of conversation through training camp and preseason, as he was one of a few candidates to be waived by the team before the start of the regular season. Though he remains on the roster, trade rumors surrounding the young guard have only ramped up after his poor start to the new NBA season.
James was mentioned in Lakers trade talk over the past month, as reports emerged both about the 21-year-old holding some value across the league and the team using him as an asset to land a frontcourt upgrade.
Though James could still be a trade chip, his dismal start to the Lakers’ season might have changed that. He might be viewed positively around the league, but at least as it relates to playing in the Purple and Gold, the franchise might start to shop the young guard in search of a power forward or center to take his spot on the roster.
James has played a total of seven minutes and scored just two points through the Lakers’ first three games of the 2026-27 NBA season.
Lakers Bronny James Trade Rumors
Before the Lakers announced Dalton Knecht would be the final roster cut, there was a chance it could have been James, as he hasn’t gotten off to a hot start in his NBA career, and reports came out about rival teams potentially seeing him in higher regard.
“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.
“Just hasn’t reached the point of offensive viability through two years, and the defensive threshold is just so freaking high at that size that if he’s never gonna make shots, he basically has to be a Jamal Shead-level pest to even justify a roster spot and he isn’t,” Quinn added.
Knecht didn’t seem to move the needle for opposing teams as an asset, but while he’s now off the roster, now with the New York Knicks, James might be the Lakers’ next most-available trade asset.
“The Los Angeles Lakers should still be looking to plug holes and should have no qualms about moving on from Bronny James,” Tyler Watts wrote on where James stands in Los Angeles and the potential of him getting traded. “They already made a mistake keeping him into the regular season. The preseason struggles were the perfect reason to move on. The Lakers need to plug their holes ASAP, and it will likely cost them Bronny.”
The Lakers are in a tough spot, as though they might not see James as having a ton of value, opposing teams might. However, it’s tough to play him a ton of minutes to boost his trade value while also not sacrificing game time for other players who are more valuable or proven in the league.
While James hasn’t gotten off to a strong start this season, the trade buzz surrounding him might only ramp up as time goes on and he continues to sit on the Lakers’ bench.
How Has LeBron James’ Son Played So Far This Season?
Through three games so far, James has appeared in just one.
He saw seven minutes of action in the Lakers’ season opener win against the Golden State Warriors, putting up two points on 1/1 shooting, while committing two fouls and giving up a turnover.
Outside of that, he didn’t play in the team’s two other wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz. Fellow end-of-the-bench guard Jaden Hardy also only got minutes in the victory against Golden State, but with backup point guard Collin Sexton back healthy, neither has gotten on the court since.
In comparison to what he’s done so far this year, James put up 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 27 games of his rookie season, and a similar 2.9 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 8.9 minutes through 42 games during last year.
He hasn’t shown to be a proven NBA-caliber player, or at least one the Lakers are dead-set on developing or playing.
With that, the James trade buzz has continued, because if he doesn’t have value on this Los Angeles roster, the front office might be smart to explore his value across the league.
Writing on James this season, Timothy Rapp provided a bleak outlook.
“The reality is that James is unlikely to see significant minutes. 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,” he wrote.
“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.”
It remains to be seen if the Lakers will trade James, but as time goes on, his future in Los Angeles doesn’t look any brighter, especially now that his father, LeBron James, is no longer on the team.
Lakers Bronny James Trade Rumors Validated After Dismal Season Start