J.J. Redick Already Planning For LeBron James & Bronny James To Appear On Floor Together

New Lakers coach J.J. Redick said that the team is already making plans for LeBron James and Bronny James to appear on the floor together at some point in the 2024-25 season. According to Redick and others on the Lakers staff, getting the father-son duo in the same lineup will be a priority.

“We obviously have talked about it as a staff and we’ve gotten into some specifics of what that might look like,” Redick said Wednesday during a press conference. “But we haven’t committed to anything. And obviously, there’s a discussion to be had once we’re all together with Bronny and LeBron, too. They should be a part of that discussion as well.”

Because Bronny, the team’s second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, figures to spend most of his time in the G League this season, time with his father will likely be tough to come by. Still, it is a near-certainty that the Lakers will capitalize on the opportunity to fulfill a dream in the James family, one that LeBron has expressed several times during his career.

“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” James said in 2023.

It seems that the Lakers drafted Bronny, in part, to convince LeBron to re-sign with the team. Hiring Redick, a friend of LeBron’s, as the new head coach was also likely part of this effort. The three of them are now in Los Angeles together. The team’s championship window is (at best) rapidly closing, but retaining LeBron was necessary and the team succeeded.

There have already been brief moments in which LeBron and Bronny have trained together at team facilities. With the regular season approaching, there will be more opportunities for the media to see the two together before they eventually share the floor in a game.

Last week, Redick said that he intends to keep the Lakers’ best starting five from last year intact, one that includes star center Anthony Davis and effective role players Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves.  Injuries to Jarred Vanderbilt and Cam Reddish may hurt the team’s depth in the early going, which could open the door for Bronny and fellow rookie Dalton Knecht to earn more minutes.

Article by Patrick Moquin