Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James has gotten used to the attention and media coverage. It doesn’t matter if it is good or bad. Entering his third season in the NBA, James is young and still early in his development, but things move fast in the most competitive league in the world.
James wasn’t drafted with the expectation to help make the Lakers a title contender, but even the last pick in the draft isn’t given a ton of time to prove he belongs in the NBA. To James’ credit, he demonstrated some strong progress last season, and the Lakers reportedly “value” the 21-year-old guard. For a 55th pick in the draft, that by itself is a win.
But the Lakers are quickly transitioning, as evidenced by the kind of high-octane offseason they have had, and youngsters like Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero are expected to rise up the depth chart. Both players entered the Association with higher expectations than James, particularly Carr, who was the team’s top selection in this year’s draft.
Thiero Expected to Overtake Bronny James in Lakers Rotation
Recently, Lakers reporter Khobi Price of the California Post put together a projection of the team’s depth chart for the upcoming season. The expectation is that the Lakers will make the newly-added Quentin Grimes their fourth starter and choose between Jake LaRavia and Sandro Mamukelashvili to round out the lineup. As for the projected 10-man rotation, James is on the outside looking in.
According to Price, there are four players expected to contend for the 10th rotation spot: Jarred Vanderbilt, Kevon Looney, Thiero and Carr.
“Each player brings distinct strengths and weaknesses. Vanderbilt is the best defender, but his lack of shooting can cramp the offensive spacing alongside a traditional big man,” Price wrote. “Looney remains a high-level screener and rebounder, but he’s coming off of playing 21 regular season games for a Pelicans team that chose to have multiple big men ahead of him in the depth chart. Carr is the best shooter of the group and provides vertical athleticism, but needs to get stronger to be a reliable defender on the wings. Thiero is the best athlete but needs to refine his skills. Mamukelashvili’s ability to be a floor-spacing center opens up an opportunity for Vanderbilt to be the swiss-army knife defender the Lakers would benefit from in the frontcourt next to Mamukelashvili.”
What Can L.A. Expect From James Next Season?
There was some speculation that James wouldn’t even be a Laker for much longer after his father departed the franchise in free agency. But James, who has a team-option for the 2027-28, has a guaranteed contract for next season. All signs point to James remaining a Laker for at least one more season.
So, what can the Lakers expect?
James displayed improved confidence last season, which likely contributed to the boost in his shooting percentages in multiple areas.
As Price noted, “there should be opportunities for Thiero and Carr to get minutes,” and James might fall lower on the depth chart than his fellow young teammates, but in the spurts he does play, he’ll have to make the most of the opportunity.
Carr is a first round pick and is burdened with more expectations by default. Thiero has more two-way upside compared to James, which is why the Lakers may have higher hopes for the 22-year-old high-flyer.
That doesn’t mean James won’t play at all. There will, however, be nights he doesn’t get the call from coach JJ Redick.
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