Lakers' Latest $3.3M Signing Potentially Puts Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Others at Risk

As of Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers have added another player to the roster, and an NBA insider believes this could affect the futures of Bronny James and Dalton Knecht. The Lakers signed guard Matisse Thybulle under a one-year $3.3 million contract, which, according to NBA insider Jovan Buha, could mean an exit from the existing roster, as he reported yesterday on X.

"The Lakers now have 16 guaranteed contracts — one more than the league maximum of 15. You can carry up to 20 during the offseason. That means they'll have to waive/stretch or trade at least one player on the current roster ahead of opening night."

With that in mind, players like Dalton Knecht and Bronny James could be leaving LA. In the case of James, because he has a guaranteed $2.3 million, he can only be traded. As for Knecht, there have also been talks of the Lakers actively shopping him to other teams this summer, with the Atlanta Hawks a possible target. The Lakers now have a reason to look at emptying roster spots as well, as noted by Buha on his X post from yesterday.

Bronny has frequently been assigned to the Lakers' G-League team, the South Bay Lakers, and Knecht has become a rotational player on the roster. Both are at risk of leaving the Lakers, one way or another.

If the Lakers do decide to trade Bronny, this could be the opportunity for LeBron James to capitalize on. LeBron has yet to choose a team that he wants to play for this coming season. When he does make his decision, he could pull some strings and ask the team's front office to trade for his eldest son before opening night.

However, according to other reports, Knecht is currently one of the Lakers' biggest trade assets, along with Jarred Vanderbilt. There are rumors that LA will try to acquire Jonathan Kuminga via a sign-and-trade scenario that involves Knecht.

But Bronny may still have a way out.

NBA insider suggests Bronny James will be traded to whichever team LeBron James joins

Now that the Lakers have exceeded the roster limit, they have to decide who they need to get rid of. Due to the current circumstances, NBA insider Brian Windhorst suggests that the finalists in the LeBron James sweepstakes should consider trading for Bronny.

"(The team) that gets LeBron James is probably going to make other ancillary moves, one of them maybe to trade for Bronny James. We don't know if that's going to be a part of it. Right now, the Lakers, for example, they don't have any roster spots. If they traded Bronny James to a place where LeBron goes, they would have a roster spot."

LeBron James has been connected to several teams during his time as a free agent, including the Golden State, Minnesota, Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia. Bronny may follow his father to one of these teams.

Nothing has been confirmed regarding the James family's moves this offseason. LeBron is yet to make his decision regarding where he wants to play. Until that time comes, only then will we see if the team that LeBron ends up in would trade for his son, Bronny.