The Los Angeles Lakers have needed some reinforcement in the frontcourt since Mo Bamba went down with an ankle injury, increasing the load on Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Wenyen Gabriel.
To remedy that, the Lakers recently brought Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley for workouts. Darvin Ham has said that they’re unlikely to sign either on a contract and were just doing their due diligence.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham says the Lakers have "no imminent plans" to sign Tristan Thompson or Tony Bradley after working them out on Monday. He says the Lakers are just "doing their due diligence"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 21, 2023
The Lakers had also worked out DeMarcus Cousins and Meyers Leonard earlier this year. The players they examined clearly didn’t bring anything to the table that made the team feel comfortable about giving them a contract for end-of-rotation minutes. With the Lakers also being a luxury tax team, a veteran minimum can cost them a lot of money through tax penalties that they end up owing.
Do The Lakers Need Another Signing?
At this point, there’s no need to sign a player with 10 games left in the season. Unless there’s another injury that really weakens their rotation, no player that the Lakers sign right now will contribute to the rotation if they make the playoffs. Giving more minutes to Wenyen Gabriel instead of signing someone who hasn’t played this season will be a much better course of action for the Lakers.
Thompson and Bradley both have limited skill sets in different respects. While Thompson is a proficient rebounder, especially on the offensive glass, he lacks a jump shot and is known as a subpar defender. Bradley can be a shot-blocker and rebounder, but won’t add any dynamism to the Lakers’ offense this season. With just a few games left in the season, the team may be better off leaving their rotations the way they are until Bamba and LeBron James are healthy.
Thompson averaged 6.0 points and 5.1 rebounds, with Bradley averaging 3.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks last season.
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