![\"2025](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2025-nba-summer-league-los-angeles-lakers-v-new-orleans-pelicans-1-e1788648588928.jpg\")
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 12: Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers walks on the court during a break in the second half of a 2025 NBA Summer League game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 12, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Well, rumor has it that the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> could decide to cut a player. With 16 players on the roster, the Lakers need to trim that number to 15 by league rule.<\/p>\n So, where does that leave players toward the bottom of the depth chart like Jaden Hardy<\/a>, Dalton Knecht<\/a> and, especially, Bronny James<\/a>?\u00a0<\/p>\n Plenty has been made this summer of these three players, with James, the son of a certain someone, being a subject of trade speculation from the moment his father informed the Lakers he wasn\u2019t going to return to the franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n James, 21, had his moments in Year 2 but not nearly enough for the Lakers to pin their hopes on James rising into stardom.<\/p>\n Is Bronny James\u2019 Lakers Future in Doubt?<\/p>\n \n It sure seems the Lakers are down to two options this summer; either they cut one player and finalize their roster, or they make a two-for-one trade. Both ways would make the Lakers roster-compliant. And yes, both could involve James\u2019 exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Jacob Rude of the Silver Screen and Roll, James is, at the very least, entering a season that could decide his Lakers fate<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a make-or-break year for Bronny,\u201d Rude wrote. \u201cThe Lakers have a wealth of options at guard, both older and younger than him. With a team option for next season, the clock is ticking for Bronny, who needs to start making an impact in games. He has the right mindset for what to work on this summer, but, again, that will have to lead to real production this season.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019ll be interesting to see how James performes now that he won\u2019t have his father\u2019s shadow constantly hanging over him. (Unless the Lakers send him to Philly!) He sure seems to have the right perspective entering his third season.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I can be a secondary ballhandler to Luka (Doncic) and (Austin Reaves<\/a>) and generate whatever offense,\u201d James told ESPN LA in a recent interview. \u201cCatch-and-shoot, pick-and-roll offense and stuff like that. I just pride myself in being an all-around player and whatever\u2019s needed, I\u2019m up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Is James the One On the Hot Seat?<\/p>\n But he is, perhaps, at an advantage compared to Knecht and Hardy, both of whom are multiple years older than James.\u00a0<\/p>\n James is 21 and very early into his development, especially for a former second round pick. The same cannot be said for Knecht, the former 17th pick in the draft who is already 25, and Hardy, who has already changed teams multiple times.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the Lakers may consider moving on from James after next season \u2014 he has a team-option for the 2027-28 season \u2014 he may be safe from being shown the backdoor for now.<\/p>\n \u201cWill he ultimately become an NBA<\/a> rotation-level player? We don\u2019t know that for sure. I will say that he has improved a ton since he came into the NBA,\u201d Lakers analyst Trevor Lane said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t jump to the conclusion that just because LeBron is no longer a Laker, that Bronny is the guy that\u2019s going to get cut. And let\u2019s also remember the Lakers did guarantee the half-portion of his salary that was non-guaranteed this summer. So they clearly decided that he is at least worth guaranteeing about half of salary in order to hang on to him.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2026-27 season could very well be make-or-break for James. But even if he shows small improvements from last season, it could be enough to convince the Lakers to continue believing in his development.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAdel Ahmad<\/a> Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 12: Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers walks on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-882048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"USC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/usc-v-arizona-state-tempe-arizona-january-20-bronny-james-6-1-e1788113937487.jpg\")
GettyTEMPE, ARIZONA \u2013 JANUARY 20: Bronny James #6 of the USC Trojans reacts during the second half of the NCAAB game against the Arizona State Sun Devilsat Desert Financial Arena on January 20, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Trojans 82-67. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n