JJ Redick’s Bronny James Admission Ahead Of 2006-27 Season Hints Future In Lakers After Father LeBron James’ Departure
JJ Redick publicly backed Bronny James on ESPN after the guard went unmentioned during the Lakers' pre-camp roster breakdown, calling him a good basketball player as Los Angeles heads into a crowded training camp with 16 contracts for 15 spots.
Bronny James is still part of the Lakers' plans, and JJ Redick made sure everyone knew it. The head coach broke his silence on ESPN Los Angeles days after the guard's name went unmentioned during a lengthy roster preview, and his words carried more weight than the setting suggested. With training camp about to open and a crowded roster forcing tough calls, the coach's endorsement answered a question the front office had left hanging in public for longer than fans expected.
Bronny James Enters Camp Fighting For A Roster Spot
When Redick and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka sat down before camp to break down the roster, they praised Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr, and they name-checked Quentin Grimes, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle as perimeter pieces who could shape the team's defensive identity. Bronny James, the second-year guard trying to hold onto a spot alongside his more established teammates, was not part of that conversation.
Redick closed that gap fast. “We were talking actually yesterday about Bronny. That guy's good. He's a good basketball player. We're excited to have him, and we're excited to coach him this year,” Redick said on ESPN LA, adding that the staff is looking forward to having him around and coaching him again this season.
The praise is important because Bronny's roster spot is not guaranteed. The Lakers are carrying 16 guaranteed contracts into a league that only allows 15, and Pelinka has already said the team will use camp to sort that out, including the possibility of a consolidation trade. Lakers reporter Jovan Buha has flagged Bronny, Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy as three players competing for what could end up being two open spots.
How LeBron James' Exit Reshaped Bronny's Role
Bronny's path in Los Angeles changed the moment his father left. LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in July, and he recently used his Mind The Game podcast to explain how that move came together, pointing to a connection that started years earlier through his son.
Long before Bronny wore a Lakers jersey, he was close with Tyrese Maxey, and that friendship put Maxey on LeBron's radar well ahead of his free agency. LeBron met Maxey when Bronny was 19, and the respect Maxey showed the family, paired with his work ethic, stuck with him. "This young man now is beyond his years for sure," LeBron said, reflecting on how little Maxey has changed since those early days.
Maxey has since become one of the faces of the Sixers, having signed a max extension worth $203.8 million through the 2028-29 season and picked up two All-Star selections, with a third expected this year. He now shares a roster with Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and newly added forward Jaylen Brown, plus LeBron himself.
None of that was Bronny's plan when he first hit it off with Maxey as a teenager, but it ended up shaping his father's final NBA chapter. Now, with LeBron in Philadelphia, Bronny is left to build his own identity in Los Angeles, and Redick's comments suggest the coaching staff still sees a future worth investing in.