Lakers News: JJ Redick Confirms Plan for Bronny James for Season Opener

Los Angeles faces off against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

Oct 22, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) warms up before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Rookie Los Angeles Lakers point guard Bronny James, son of 20-time All-NBA Lakers combo forward LeBron James, was expected to suit up for at least some of L.A.'s official 2024-25 regular season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, scheduled to tip off Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT.

Now, first-year Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick reveals that Los Angeles will indeed try to find a way to feature the 6-foot-2 USC product, per Darren M. Haynes of KCAL/KCBS Los Angeles.

L.A. selected the younger James with the No. 55 selection in June's 2024 NBA Draft. The bigger story from a purely on-court chemistry perspective was the Lakers' decision to snatch 6-foot-6 former University of Tennessee Volunteers All-American shooting guard Dalton Knecht. Knecht has already emerged as perhaps the Lakers' best bench piece prior to the start of the 2024-25 season. Appearing in five games during the Lakers' 2-4 preseason run, the 23-year-old averaged an impressive 18.0 points on a .437/.360/.833 slash line, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 26.7 minutes a night off the bench.

Bronny James had a miserable playoff run in all but two games. He notched a team-best +17 plus-minus during the Lakers' 128-122 preseason victory over the Phoenix Suns last week, though he scored just four points on 2-of-4 shooting and grabbed one rebound. In Los Angeles' preseason finale, he logged an abysmal -37 plus-minus, while scoring in double digits for the first time during the preseason. He scored 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field (1-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line) and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line, while also pulling down four boards, dishing out one dime, swiping a steal and blocking one shot.

While play in all six preseason bouts, the 20-year-old finished with averages of 4.2 points on .297/.083/.500 shooting splits, 1.7 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.5 steals a night, across 16.2 minutes per. It's already been established that Bronny James will spend most of his rookie season with the Lakers' G League affiliate squad in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers. That said, it seems Redick is ready to meet the moment.

If (when?) the two generations of Jameses suit up on Tuesday night, they will make pretty special NBA history, becoming the first father-son duo to ever play together in a league game, let alone on the same team.

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