After the Los Angeles Lakers began the 2024-25 season with three consecutive home games, they will head out on a five-game road trip. The trip begins in Phoenix against the Suns on Monday, and culminates in Memphis against the Grizzlies on Nov. 6 with stops in Cleveland, Toronto and Detroit. But ahead of the upcoming road trip, the Lakers made a series of roster moves, assigning the end of the bench players to the South Bay Lakers.
The 2024-25 G League regular season does not begin until Nov. 8, so these assignments are just practice assignments and for them to get some work in instead of just sitting on the bench during the trip.
The four players that were assigned to South Bay on Sunday were Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Quincy Olivari and Armel Traoré. Hood-Schifino was ruled out for the Lakers’ game against the Suns on Friday and against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday due to illness.
Lewis, in his second season with the Lakers after being drafted with the No. 40 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, got plenty of reps last season with the South Bay Lakers. Olivari and Traoré are on two-way contracts so they are going to see regular assignments in the G League. Olivari made headlines during preseason for his inspired play.
The Lakers’ third two-way contract player, Christian Koloko, has not yet been cleared by the NBA’s Fitness-To-Play Panel. The No. 33 overall pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 2022 NBA Draft, Koloko only played one season before it was discovered that he blood clot issues, forcing him to be sidelined.
Bronny James not among Lakers’ G League assignments
When the Lakers announced their South Bay roster moves, there was one name noticeably absent, Bronny James. When the Lakers selected James with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, it was assumed that he was going to get plenty of reps in the G League.
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But this week, the Lakers’ plans for Bronny James for the G League were revealed. Bronny will travel with the Lakers during the upcoming five-game road trip, and then join South Bay when the 2024-25 G League regular season begins on Nov. 8. South Bay’s first game is Nov. 9.
Bronny played in the Lakers’ opening night win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, as he made history with his dad, LeBron James as the only father and son duo to play together in the NBA. Bronny finished with one rebound in three minutes. He hasn’t played in the Lakers’ last two games.
The former USC guard signed a four-year, standard rookie contract with the Lakers this past offseason. He’s made a remarkable return to the court after suffering a cardiac arrest scare the summer before his freshman year at USC. He played one season for the Trojans before declaring for the NBA Draft.