Bronnie James was named to the Los Angeles Lakers’ opening night roster for the 2026-27 season, securing a spot while waiving his draft classmate, first-round pick Dalton Knecht.
Also, after James averaged just 2.4 minutes in five games in the Lakers’ 7-2 start, the team announced Thursday that it has traded its 2024 second-round pick to the Coachella Valley Lakers of the G League.
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Fellow guard Cameron Carr was also sent down to the franchise’s G League affiliate ahead of Friday night’s season opener against the Utah Jazz’s Salt Lake City Stars.
Bronny James, in his first season with the Lakers organization without his father LeBron James, previously spent time in the G League, where his stat lines often dwarfed those he authored in the NBA.
In a combined 25 regular-season games over the past two seasons with the then-South Bay Lakers — who have since moved and rebranded — Bronnie James averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field, including 41 percent.
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James, now 22, was the 55th overall pick when he was drafted out of USC more than two years ago.
He appeared in 27 regular-season games with the Lakers as a rookie, making father-son history, but struggled mightily at times, especially early on.
He showed marked improvement in Year 2, appearing in 42 regular season games and increasing his field goal percentage from 31.3% (2024-25) to 40.9% (2025-26) as well as his 3-point percentage from 28.1% (2024-25) to 38.262.
Head coach JJ Redick saw enough from James to insert him into the playoff rotation last season, albeit briefly.
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This led to additional excitement and milestones.
In Year 3, the question was what would James have been without his superstar father on the Lakers (including how he would have been treated by the staff and teammates when the future Hall of Famer was gone)?
But James was not given the opportunity to make any kind of breakthrough during the regular season.
He is averaging 0.8 points per game in his free minutes. He only attempted three field goals and made two of them.
James could be back with the Lakers soon, but his lack of presence on the court so far doesn’t bode well for him actually fulfilling the long-term 3-and-D role he casually teased last season.
As for Knecht, he signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks after scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, plus seven rebounds, in a win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.