Less than a month ago, the Lakers cut Dalton Knecht and kept Bronny James on the roster. On Thursday, they sent James to the G League after just 12 minutes of play through nine games.

JJ Redick has now explained the thinking, and he framed it as a plan rather than a punishment.

“I mean both him and Cam will be with us on the trip,” Redick said as per a video on X by InfanityTV.com. “Messaging was very simple, it’s just you guys need reps and you guys need to play.”

The “Cam” Redick mentioned is rookie guard Cameron Carr, the Lakers’ 2026 first-round pick, who was assigned to the Coachella Valley Lakers alongside James. Both players were sent down while the Lakers (8-2, first in the West) kept winning, and both remain on the NBA roster. Neither assignment ends their time with the team.

Redick then pointed to James’ experience. “Bronny’s done this enough between being with us and being with South Bay the last two years and now Coachella,” he said. “Like, he knows what’s expected of him there.”

On Carr, he was direct about the purpose of the move. “I think for Cam, again, that’s why we have the G League is to develop players,” Redick said. “He needs reps.”

The numbers explain the need. James, 22, has appeared in five games for Los Angeles, averaging about 2.4 minutes and 0.8 points, with 12 total minutes. It is his first season with the Lakers since his father, LeBron James, left for the Philadelphia 76ers, who sit atop the East at 8-2.

The Lakers’ backcourt is healthy, which leaves little room for a third-year guard.

The G League is a very different setting. Reports say the Lakers expect James to play at least 25 minutes per game there. Coachella Valley, the rebranded home of the former South Bay Lakers, opened its season at home Friday against the Salt Lake City Stars at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert.

Redick’s message is consistent with the way the Lakers have handled James since he arrived, but the setting makes it harder to take at face value. In his first two seasons, James moved between the NBA and the G League, and the minutes he got in El Segundo were what made him a viable rotation player. Last season, Redick included him in the playoff rotation, though it was a shorthanded one.

Redick has used similar language about other young players. For him, the G League is a place to get minutes the NBA roster cannot provide, which is also how he described Carr’s situation.

For now, Redick’s answer was short and practical: play, get reps, return when ready. James has done this before, and the Lakers have said it is the plan. The next test is whether his G League production earns another look.

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