Report: Bronny to make G League debut Saturday

The Los Angeles Lakers assigned Bronny James to their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, and he's expected to debut Saturday against the Salt Lake City Stars, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

The current plan is for James to only appear in South Bay home games so the team can manage his time on both rosters, according to Charania.

It was reported on Oct. 25 that James was expected to begin a G League-NBA split following the Lakers' road trip, which concluded Wednesday. During that five-game trip, the Lakers went 1-4, only beating the Toronto Raptors.

The 20-year-old James appeared in three games during that stretch, recording his first NBA points in a homecoming against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has appeared in four games this season and played just 13 total minutes, averaging 1.0 points, 0.5 assists, and 0.3 rebounds on 16.7% shooting.

The rookie guard is expected to be on the Lakers' roster for Friday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers and then rejoin South Bay.

The 4-4 Lakers are coming off back-to-back losses to the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.