When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Thomas Bryant, it was sneakily one of the best moves made during the offseason.
Bryant, who first made his professional debut with the Lakers in 2017 before returning this season, was playing very well during his second stint with Los Angeles.
The big man was shooting a career-best 44.0 percent on 3-pointers while also averaging 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. But according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, he had reportedly “grown unhappy” with his diminished playing time since Anthony Davis returned to the lineup.
According to Shelburne, Bryant asked the Lakers to find “a better situation” before the deadline. He was traded to the Nuggets in exchange for Davon Reed and three second-round picks.
Bryant had grown unhappy with his diminished PT since AD returned and asked LAL to look for a better situation. He’d also outplayed his contract & LA only has mid-level to re-sign him— so they opted to give his minutes to Wenyen Gabriel & replenish the picks they gave up for Rui. https://t.co/OLaVrB9AkN
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 9, 2023
The Nuggets, who are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, couldn’t be in a better situation to welcome Bryant.
While they have arguably the best player in the league with back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic, they were otherwise incredibly thin in the frontcourt and desperately needed a backup big man.
Bryant, who turned into a meme when he asked for the pass on the shot when LeBron James’ broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record, will be a free agent this offseason. He should earn a decent contract from Denver or another team that looks to sign him.
This move will give the Lakers an opportunity to give more minutes to more defensive-oriented players in the frontcourt like Jarred Vanderbilt — recently acquired in the trade for Russell Westbrook — and Wenyen Gabriel.
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