Darvin Ham says Lakers have ‘no imminent plans’ to sign Tristan Thompson or Tony Bradley
Mar 21, 2023 - 11:48 PMAfter hosting another pair of big men for workouts in Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley this week, the Lakers seem to still be holding serve on using their final roster spot. After practice on Tuesday, head coach Darvin Ham confirmed the team hosted Thompson and Bradley for a workout, but said a signing of neither is imminent.
Darvin Ham confirms that Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley worked out for the Lakers yesterday, but clarified that “nothing is imminent.” He said the Lakers were doing their “due diligence” on evaluating big man options.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 21, 2023
It’s not a particularly surprising development given how little the two have played this season. Thompson hasn’t suited up and Bradley has only played a small handful of games. No amount of PR spin about how good they may have looked in the workout changes that.
Having said that, the Lakers probably need to sign someone in the coming days or week. There isn’t any point in having an open roster spot heading into the postseason — assuming the Lakers get there — and especially when the team has a pretty obvious need for another big man.
The problem is finding someone worth a roster spot this late in the season. If you’re a free agent in mid-March, you probably aren’t going to be producing much. Looking at the most recent names the Lakers have worked out from Thompson to Bradley to DeMarcus Cousins. It’s a host of players who haven’t been productive bigs for some time.
Again, though, having a body is better than not, especially with the looming potential of Anthony Davis sitting out another back-to-back late in the season.
A player like Nerlens Noel could make sense as someone who has had some minutes this season. But there’s some conflict there potentially with Klutch Sports and Noel.
The Lakers certainly should be turning over every stone to find someone to help them down the stretch run. It’s the move on the margins that could prove to be big in getting them to the postseason.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
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