When it was announced that LeBron James had told the Los Angeles Lakers he would be leaving this offseason, the immediate assumption was that his son Bronny James would be on his way out as well. It has long been assumed in some corners that the Lakers only held on to Bronny for LeBron, but the California Post’s Khobi Price has made it clear they value him.
Price appeared on the Brock & Alex show on 97.1 The Fan on Tuesday, where he was asked who the Lakers are most likely to move on from, now that they have 16 players under contract.
“If LeBron chooses X team, what if X team is willing to send the Lakers, I don’t know, a second-round pick for Bronny James?” Price said. “That would automatically put Bronny James the most likely player. Now, what I want to make clear is that the Lakers are more than happy to keep Bronny James.
“They drafted him in the second round two years ago, they developed him, they’re a fan of him,” Price continued. “He has a lot of people who like him within the building. So, it’s not going to be one of those situations where, oh yeah, they’re just going to send Bronny to wherever LeBron goes. It would take something real for the Lakers to want to trade him.”
The Lakers had selected Bronny with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. There were nepotism claims thrown around soon after, with the belief that he was only picked because LeBron was on the team.
Bronny’s early struggles led to criticism of him and the Lakers intensifying, but he improved over time. Now, the 21-year-old’s numbers were still nothing to write home about, as he averaged 2.9 points, 0.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game in 2025-26. He was getting more comfortable on the court, though.
Bronny played some meaningful minutes in the playoffs for the first time in 2026 and had some good moments. Notably, he and LeBron connected on an alley-oop in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Houston Rockets. That was incredible to watch.
The Lakers had seen enough from Bronny by then to keep him around. His $2.3 million contract for 2026-27 would become fully guaranteed on June 29, and they opted against parting ways before that to save $1 million.
Now, a day after that, LeBron informed the Lakers he was leaving. The timing raised eyebrows, but it doesn’t appear to have changed anything for the team. Bronny is under contract for 2027-28 as well (team option), but his entire $2.5 million salary is non-guaranteed. If he keeps progressing, the Lakers would let it become guaranteed and maybe even give him an extension.
Now, what will be interesting to see is if whatever team LeBron ends up on looks to bring Bronny in too. The Lakers not being willing to just give him away does complicate matters, though, and makes a trade unlikely.
As long as LeBron doesn’t push for that move, it looks like we could get to see him and Bronny face off at some point next season. That would be some sight.
