Lakers assistant hints at bigger role for Bronny James

Bronny James may be heading for a larger role with the Los Angeles Lakers this season, at least according to one of the team’s assistant coaches.

In an appearance on “The Sports Shop with Reese and K-Mac,” Lakers lead assistant Nate McMillan said James’ G-League stint had helped his confidence, made him more relaxed, and led to “a lot of growth” during his first NBA season.

McMillan also suggested that James might be in line for more minutes with the Lakers in his second season.

“I love Bronny. Great young man and we expect him to possibly get some minutes this year,” McMillan said, via Robby Kalland of CBS Sports.

Unsurprisingly, Bronny was not a huge factor during his rookie season. He did appear in 27 games for the Lakers, but averaged just 6.7 minutes per game and mostly played in garbage time situations.

James was on the Lakers’ Summer League roster, but the team did not exactly push him as hard as they could have. Perhaps that also points to a slightly expanded role for him in year two, and this is not the first time we have heard about that possibility.