Sports

Lakers' Bronny James asking price proves trade won't be a favor to LeBron James

Lake Show Life · Jul 22, 2026 03:25 · 3 min read

Lakers' Bronny James asking price proves trade won't be a favor to LeBron James — Los Angeles Lakers, Bronny James | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Lakers are not just trading Bronny James to whatever team his father chooses.

The Los Angeles Lakers want something real in return for Bronny James, according to Khobi Price. That means they won’t just be trading him to wherever LeBron James decides to go. King James is an unrestricted free agent. He informed the Lakers he won’t be returning, and likely still wants to play with his son. Whatever team wins the bidding for LeBron will have to give the Lakers an asset to trade for Bronny.

Fans can read Price’s quote below when asked about who is the most likely player to be moved to get the Lakers down to 15 players.

“If LeBron chooses X team, what if X team is willing to send the Lakers a second-round pick for Bronny James? That automatically puts Bronny James as the most likely player. 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’ve developed him. They’re a fan of him. He has a lot of people who like him within the building. It is not going to be one of those situations where they’re going to just send Bronny to wherever LeBron goes. It would take something real for the Lakers to want to trade him.”

Fans aren’t surprised. Bronny made a leap in his second professional season, including significantly improving his jumper. The Lakers need him to play more off the ball to fit around Luka Doncic. James is doing that. They have no reason to dump the 21-year-old they’ve developed for two years without an asset in return.

Lakers won’t be doing LeBron James a favor with a Bronny James trade

Bronny has yet to crack the rotation, but his growth has been impressive. The Lakers should have played him in summer league to continue his development. The 6’2 guard is working hard on improving his shooting, defense, and overall efficiency. The fan favorite is never going to be a superstar, but he could be an impact guard off the bench like Jose Alvarado or TJ McConnell.

Bronny currently doesn’t fit around Luka, which is a problem. The Lakers are building their roster around number 77 and want to maximize their superstar. They sent LeBron and several others packing this summer to make this Doncic’s team.

The Lakers have a long history of taking care of their superstars. From Kobe Bryant’s final contract to giving their superstar a say in roster decisions, there are several reasons the best players keep coming to LA.

The Lakers didn’t do that with LeBron. They let him accept his player option last summer and play out the final year of his contract. Los Angeles didn’t aggressively pursue King James in free agency. Now, they have no plans to send his son to his next destination without getting an asset in return.

The Los Angeles Lakers are not giving up Bronny James without draft capital coming back. The 21-year-old earned that with his shooting improvement alone. Fans love him, and the Lakers have invested in his development. Those hours aren’t going to waste.

LA wants an asset to pair LeBron with Bronny again. It will take at least one second-round draft pick to acquire Bronny. King James’ next team will have to step up to the plate and pay for his son. Stay tuned to see if that happens.