The Los Angeles Lakers need a starting power forward, and trading Bronny James might be their only path to acquiring one at this point in the offseason. They are limited in what they can offer. The Lakers have just three second-round draft picks and one first-round pick swap to move. LA has three players firmly on the trade block, but no deal is getting done. That could mean parting with a fan favorite who improved significantly in his second NBA season.
The Lakers' offseason retool has limited who they can trade. Only Luka Doncic, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cameron Carr, Jake LaRavia, Jaden Hardy, Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, and Adou Thiero are eligible to be traded before opening night. LA isn’t moving on from their superstar. They just saw impressive performances from Carr and Thiero in summer league. The Lakers have no issues trading from Vando, Knecht, or Hardy, but no team is accepting those offers. That leaves just Bronny and LaRavia. The Lakers need a forward, and LaRavia is on an expiring deal after getting benched in the playoffs. There is likely not much value in trading him, which means LeBron’s son is the only option.
King James is gone, but the Lakers want to keep Bronny. The pressure is on to continue improving. The 21-year-old has fans in the organization, and his shooting improved significantly in his second NBA season. Bronny has room to grow, and some team could take a shot on him.
Lakers may need to trade Bronny James to find a starting power forward
The Lakers let eight players go from last season’s roster to retool around Luka Doncic. They lost their top two power forwards and want to trade Vanderbilt. The purple and gold are left with no trusted option at the four unless they plan on playing Sandro Mamukelashvili in a role no other team trusted him in.
Los Angeles signed Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton to play minutes in the backcourt. They drafted Cameron Carr and traded for Jaden Hardy. Their two best players are also guards. The Lakers have plenty of options to fill those minutes, and Bronny may just have enough upside to get a trade done.
The 6’2 guard has yet to crack the nightly rotation, but shooting 38.6 percent from 3-point range in the NBA and being a plus-shooter in the G League should be enough for some team to offer a second-round draft pick for him. That alone could get a sign-and-trade done for Jonathan Kuminga or get LA in a different sweepstakes.
The Lakers don’t want to lose Bronny, but their goal is to compete for a championship this season. The 21-year-old guard isn’t ready to help with that. Getting a power forward who plays 30 minutes per game could give LA a serious shot. Building a title contender always involves painful moves, and this could be one for Luka’s team.
The Los Angeles Lakers need a starting power forward before training camp, and trading Bronny James may be the only path to acquiring one. The franchise is light on tradable assets. Bronny should have value and could be the piece that gets the deal over the finish line. Fans won’t be happy, but winning would make them forget. The Lakers know that better than any franchise, so do not rule it out.
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