Lakers' JJ Redick Offers Brutally Honest Assessment of Bronny James' Rotation Minutes

The Lakers head coach gives an honest assessment of where he thinks Bronny James is as a player.
Jul 2, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick (right) and second-round draft pick Bronny James at a press conference at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jul 2, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick (right) and second-round draft pick Bronny James at a press conference at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Lakers are in win-now mode. Having LeBron James on your roster at the age of 40 makes that the case.

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Because of that, Los Angeles isn't playing a ton of young guys. Dalton Knecht, their first-round pick in 2024, is the only young guy who is getting regular rotational minutes.

Bronny James has not been getting regular minutes. Most of the minutes he has gotten have come with the South Bay Lakers, their G League affiliate.

So far this season, James has played in just 13 games this season. He actually got the most minutes of his career in the Lakers' matchup with the 76ers on Tuesday.

James played 15 minutes against Philly on Tuesday. His minutes weren't very productive, as he went scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting from the field.

They put James out there for that long as a defensive foil to try to stop Tyrese Maxey, who put 43 points on the Lakers. James didn't really stop him, either.

Following the game, head coach JJ Redick was asked about his minutes in that game. He gave an honest assessment of what he thought.

For Redick to come out and say he flat-out didn't play well is brutally honest. He put him out there to help with the energy on the second night of a back-to-back.

Redick was clearly hoping for more from James on a night like this. He tried to make some excuses for why he didn't play well, but he looked lost out there.

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James clearly needs more time in the G League. He isn't going to be a guy that is going to beat a lot of guys off the dribble. He needs to be a catch-and-shoot guy in the NBA.

He has to improve his shooting in order to develop at that level on offense. His defense is pretty solid, but he has to become a better overall offensive player.

At the NBA level, James is averaging 0.3 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game this season.

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