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Dave McMenamin
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Dave McMenamin
ESPN Staff Writer
- Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
- Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.
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Shams Charania
Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Bronny James will travel with the South Bay Lakers to make his road G League debut Thursday against the Valley Suns in Tempe, Ariz., sources told ESPN.
The Lakers’ No. 55 pick has played in three G League games — all at home. James is averaging 8.7 points on 29.4% shooting, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks.
He is coming off his strongest showing with South Bay, scoring 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting with four rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes in a win over the San Diego Clippers on Saturday.
James, 20, was recently sidelined for several weeks while dealing with a bone bruise in his left heel. The organization was cautious in James’ recovery, sources told ESPN on Wednesday, because the heel injury was affecting the same leg that required left knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus when he was in high school.
Joey Buss, South Bay’s president and CEO, told ESPN last month that James’ split allegiances between the Lakers and their G League affiliate were not set in stone.
“That’s going to be fluid,” Buss told ESPN. “We’re going to do what’s best for his development. There’s going to be a lot of things that we do for all the assignment players, and decisions are made based off where they are, based off the injury status, based off how many bodies they need for practice. There’s a lot of variables. So nothing unique for Bronny. He’s just kind of in that system.”
The Lakers do not play again until Friday on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves, so James could theoretically play in Tempe on Thursday and be called back up to join L.A. on Friday in Minneapolis.
James’ father, LeBron, missed Wednesday’s practice because of personal reasons, according to coach JJ Redick.