If the Los Angeles Lakers want to eventually move on from Bronny James, a new pathway has just come into potential existence.
An NBA expansion draft could be on the cards in a few years as the league considers bringing on teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.
It's been a while since there was an expansion draft, in which teams are allowed to protect a certain amount of players.
Would Bronny get protected by Los Angeles? It doesn't seem likely, barring major improvements, and given that LeBron will almost certainly be retired by the time of any expansion draft.
If Bronny is unprotected, given that the Lakers may not have a deep enough roster to leave anyone else very compelling available, Bronny might just get picked.
The Sporting News' NBA writer Stephen Noh has that happening in a new mock expansion draft, in which Bronny goes with the 30th and final pick to the team in Las Vegas.
"With dad LeBron off the team by now, the Lakers part ways with Bronny," Noh writes. "He gets a chance to carve out his own name as a 3-and-D guard off the bench, with LeBron and Savannah a short drive away to watch him play."
Bronny has been better in his second professional season than he was in his first, both in the NBA and down in the G League.
His shooting percentages, particularly in G League action, have taken a big leap. That was always going to be a swing skill that determined Bronny's overall chance of success.
Now that he's making shots, he might have a real future in the NBA. That might just end up being somewhere other than Hollywood.
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