EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick has already started thinking about LeBron James and Bronny James becoming the first father-son duo in NBA history to share the court together this season, but he says he will involve both players when it comes to actually putting a plan in place for when and how that moment happens. «We obviously have talked about it as a staff and we've gotten into some specifics of what that might look like,» Redick said Wednesday during a joint news conference with Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka. «But we haven't committed to anything.
And obviously, there's a discussion to be had once we're all together with Bronny and LeBron, too. They should be a part of that discussion as well.» James is 39 and entering his 22nd season.
His eldest son is 19 and entering his rookie year after being selected by L.A. with the 55th pick in second round after playing one season at USC.
While the regular season doesn't open up until Oct. 22 when the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves, Pelinka said the team has already gotten a glimpse of the James bloodline in action during a pick-up game at the practice facility this week. "[Bronny] got switched onto LeBron, and LeBron took him baseline, up and under off the glass," Pelinka said. «The words exchanged afterward were probably more challenging than anything else.» James shared some mild-mannered trash talk Wednesday on his Instagram account, posting Pelinka's quote about the father-son pick-up sequence and writing, «Great defense.