With LeBron James and Mo Bamba out due to injury, the Los Angeles Lakers’ frontline is a bit small as the regular season starts to wind down and their chase for a playoff spot gets more heated.
Other than Anthony Davis, they only have Wenyen Gabriel, who is 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds, Rui Hachimura at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds and Jarred Vanderbilt at a lean 6-foot-8 and 214 pounds to play center. Obviously, Gabriel, Hachimura and Vanderbilt should never be playing the position.
Buy Lakers TicketsOn Monday, the Lakers reportedly brought in Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley for a workout in order to see if either of them has what it takes to plug their hole at the backup 5 spot.
Sham Charania reported that Thompson “was in good shape” during the session (h/t Silver Screen and Roll).
"I'm told Thompson was in good shape."
NBA Insider @ShamsCharania reports on the Lakers working out big men Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley on Monday. pic.twitter.com/hUieGo8o9S
— The Rally (@TheRally) March 20, 2023
“I’m told the Lakers worked out both Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley. I’m told Thompson was in good shape. Tony Bradley, he’s a guy that played this year for the Bulls, there’s a little more recency with his level of play. Tristan Thompson has yet to play this year… He finished (last) year with the Bulls, actually was a teammate of Tony Bradley’s, supplanted him in the rotation last season in the rotation when the Bulls got him in the buyout market. So we’ll see. The Lakers have one open roster spot, they’ve looked into big men in the market place, we’ll see if they decide to sign Thompson or Tony Bradley in the coming days.”
Thompson, 32, was teammates with James when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA championship in 2016. He averaged 6.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game last season for three different teams.
Bamba is expected to be re-evaluated at some point in early April. Until then, L.A. could definitely use some help in the middle.
