Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers' season came to an unceremonious end with a Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. The defeat brought to an end the rookie season of Bronny James, who gained significant media attention for playing alongside his father LeBron with the Purple and Gold.

Bronny James spent much of the season rotating back and forth between the Lakers and the NBA G-League, not having many stretches of consistent minutes with the big club.

However, that may change next year, according to one Western Conference executive.

“I don't think there's any doubt that's their plan,” said the exec, per Sean Deveney of Athlon Sports. “I know the guy gets a lot of grief because of who his dad is, but we've seen a lot fo tape on (Bronny) and the fact is, he was a lot better player in April than he was in October, and definitely in July.”

The executive also referenced the health scare that set James back during his time with the USC Trojans.

“He's 20 years old,” the exec said. “He had a whole year where his development was thrown all out of whack. But he can defend the perimeter and he showed he can shoot the 3. If he can show that wasn't a fluke, he is going to start getting 10, 15 minutes a night because the team is going to feel like they can trust him.”

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An increased role for Bronny?

Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) checks in for forward LeBron James (23) during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

As the executive noted, Bronny James looked much more well-adjusted to the speed of the NBA game by the later portion of the season than he had early on.

In theory, James has the tools to turn himself into an elite on-ball defender who can also knock down open shots on the offensive end of the floor, similar to a player like Davion Mitchell of the Miami Heat.

It remains to be seen whether the Lakers will part with any of their backcourt players this offseason in the hopes of ramping up their frontcourt depth, which could give James the opportunity he needs to see more minutes under head coach JJ Redick.