If you are trying to be the lead initiator of an offense, it is tough to be a genuine playmaking threat without also having just enough scoring pressure to match. Bronny James has experienced that firsthand in the preseason. It is limiting his ceiling on that end with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bronny is a good passer. That should give him a foundation for being an effective offensive player for the Lakers. The threat of his playmaking will be consistently minimized if there is not enough worry that he could just as easily score on any given play.
There have been plenty of pass-first guards who have thrived in the NBA. To varying degrees, there was still enough concern about them getting the bucket themselves — whether that came as a shooter, slasher, or otherwise. That opens up a defense instead of letting defenders clog the passing lanes.
Watching James throughout the preseason has been a perfect example of this. If Bronny wants to quiet the people saying he is wrongly positioned as a point guard for the Lakers, there needs to be a commitment to opening up his offense with his willingness to score the basketball.
Bronny James cannot just be looking for the pass when running the Lakers offense
There is still hesitation to Bronny's game with creating scoring for himself. When there is an attempt to create a bucket, an ineffective result has tended to be met with James simply resetting and slowing things back down again for the offense.
Sometimes, that is the right call. Other times, that just kills the flow of a play.
Much of this is why there is still a feeling of Bronny needing to play off his stars like Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to be at his best. Catching the ball when defenses are out of position thanks to Doncic and Reaves gives James the opportunity to attack them on the back foot. That opens things up.
Eventually, if James does truly aspire to grow into a rotation-caliber point guard, there will need to be genuine improvements in beating NBA defenders on his own merit and self-creating those openings for either his scoring or playmaking. That is still a work in progress right now.
Keep in mind, this is essentially a contract year for Bronny. The team option on his deal for 2027-28 gives the Lakers an opportunity to seamlessly cut ties if they think that roster spot can be better used elsewhere.
James has given them plenty reason not to pursue that course of action so far. Not stagnating as an offensive player is the next crucial step to keep the Lakers interested.
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