Lakers Make Big Decision on Bronny James G League Assignment

The rookie guard has been ailing the past few games.

Nov 10, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) guards Toronto Raptors forward Jonathan Mogbo (2) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Bronny James has been dealing with a left heel contusion for L.A.'s past three contests.

Apparently, he's healthy enough to at least be potentially available for South Bay's next two contests. Per Trevor Lane of The Front Office Show, he and fellow standard roster Laker Maxwell Lewis, a second-year forward out of Pepperdine, have been assigned to L.A.'s NBAGL affiliate for a two-game Lakers road trip.

Bronny James, 20-year-old son of 20-time All-Star Lakers combo forward LeBron James, was selected with the No. 55 pick after a one-and-done season with the USC Trojans in this June's 2024 NBA Draft. Lewis was the No. 40 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The South Bay Lakers, meanwhile, are gearing up for a two-game home stand, featuring back-to-back bouts against Western Conference foes' affiliates. James was with the team on Sunday, but was a DNP - Inactive due to the aforementioned heel issues.

On Tuesday, they'll face off the San Diego Clippers, the G League affiliate of crosstown nemeses the L.A. Clippers. On Wednesday, the Portland Trail Blazers' NBAGL squad, the Rip City Remix, will head to El Segundo for a tilt.Across two games for South Bay, the younger James is averaging 5.0 points on .211/.000/1.000 shooting splits (he's taking 3.0 triple tries a night, he's just making 0 percent of them), 3.0 assists (against 3.0 turnovers), 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per bout.

Bronny has played sparingly at the NBA level for Los Angeles thus far this season. In six appearances, the 6-foot-2 pro is averaging 0.7 points on .167/.000/1.000 shooting splits, 0.3 assists and 0.2 rebounds a night.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-7 Lewis has appeared in just three games for Los Angeles this year, averaging just 2.7 minutes a night. Last season, the 22-year-old appeared in 34 bouts, averaging 0.3 points in 3.0 minutes, mostly as a deep-bench mop-up player. Across 25 games with South Bay in 2023-24, Lewis averaged 14.9 points on a .422/.356/.879 slash line, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks a night.

This year, South Bay has gone 1-4 in Tip-Off Tournament play, as it grapples with inconsistent lineups and minutes allocations.

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