Luka Doncic’s health is unquestionably the Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest concern moving forward.
The five-time All-Star suffered a left leg contusion in the first half of the Lakers’ Saturday night contest vs. The Los Angeles Clippers and was ruled out for the rest of the contest.
With Doncic being listed as day-to-day and the Lakers’ guard depth potentially taking a hit in late December with Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent nursing injuries, Los Angeles elected to make a significant roster move involving Bronny James.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have recalled guard Bronny James Jr. From the South Bay Lakers,” LakersNation’s Trevor Lane reported Sunday.
While the Lakers likely wanted James to continue developing in the G-League, Doncic’s lower-body setback left them no choice but to promote the 21-year-old second-year guard.
When Los Angeles was hit with the injury bug earlier this season, James was among the beneficiaries, as he received more minutes than usual. Unfortunately for James, the USC product didn’t take advantage of the opportunity in front of him, prompting the Lakers to demote him on multiple occasions.
Now that the Lakers’ health issues have returned, there’s a good chance that the former No. 55 overall pick will get a do-over with the 19-8 Western Conference squad.
James is averaging 1.9 points and 1.5 assists per game with the Lakers this season, shooting 32.3% from the field and 28.6% from three.
James should be prepared to play a competent offensive brand of basketball moving forward if he wants to stay on the Lakers’ good side.
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