Whether significant or minuscule, the Los Angeles Lakers always appear to be making moves throughout the course of a season.
The Lakers continued that trend on Thursday afternoon, making a major decision involving their disappointing sophomore guard Bronny James.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned guard Bronny James Jr. And forward Adou Thiero to South Bay,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported Thursday.
James doesn’t have the luxury of saying he hasn’t had opportunities to prove his worth on the hardwood.
James, who was expected to take a massive offensive leap in Year 2, has appeared in 10 games with Los Angeles, including one start (against the Milwaukee Bucks).
Instead of taking advantage of the Lakers’ injury situation and playing his way into a more meaningful role with the franchise, the USC product elected to perform timidly (passing up open jumpers) and exhibit little to no potential as an off-the-dribble playmaker.
James is averaging 2.1 points, 1.8 assists, and 0.9 rebounds per game, shooting 29.6% from the field and 27.3% from three.
Considering James enjoyed plenty of success with South Bay as a rookie (he notched 13.4 points, dished out 3.9 assists, and grabbed 3.4 rebounds per contest), it was wise for the Lakers to give the 21-year-old more time to develop in the NBA’s minor league.
Eventually, though, the Lakers will want to witness high-level progress from their 2024 No. 55 overall pick.
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