Bronny James is expected to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers for their upcoming five-game road trip. After that, however, the rookie will begin splitting time between the Lakers' active roster and the team's G League affiliate, ESPN's Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin report.

James played three minutes in the Lakers' season opener on Tuesday, giving fans and media what they wanted to see when he took the floor with his father, LeBron James. He shot 0-for-2, including 0-for-1 from 3-point range, and grabbed one rebound.

The Lakers have two more home games - Friday against the Phoenix Suns and Saturday against the Sacramento Kings - before opening their road trip Monday in Phoenix. The five-game stretch from Oct. 28 to Nov. 6 includes a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers that should be a special moment for the James family.

With the Cavs, LeBron won Rookie of the Year honors, two NBA MVP awards and the 2015-16 NBA championship. Bronny was born in 2004, just prior to LeBron's second season in Cleveland.

After being selected in the second round (No. 55 overall) of the 2024 NBA Draft, Bronny signed a four-year, $7.9 million contract with the Lakers. However, his agent, Rich Paul, negotiated a standard deal - not the two-way contract that prospects splitting time between the NBA and G League typically play under.

However, there was always an understanding that playing in the G League with the team's South Bay affiliate would be part of his development, according to ESPN. LeBron confirmed the likelihood while speaking with reporters at media day, emphasizing that the Lakers and South Bay are part of the same team.

"His job is to put in the work and get better and better, just like the rest of us," LeBron said, via ESPN. "And we want to hold him accountable, and he's going to hold us accountable. And when we all do that, we all get better, because we're all one team. We're a reflection of the South Bay; the South Bay is a reflection of us."