The Los Angeles Lakers have hit their stride at the right time of the season. The team is 6-4 over its last ten games and is currently only a half-game behind the Utah Jazz for the tenth-best record in the Western Conference.
But despite the Lakers' encouraging play of late, the team still has holes to address, namely its lack of depth at the center spot. The Lakers are without any highly reliable big men to back up Anthony Davis, as the team's reserve center at the moment is Wenyen Gabriel.
So in hopes of bolstering the team at the center spot, the Lakers recently held tryouts with free-agent centers Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley. Darvin Ham told this news to the media on Tuesday, per a tweet from The Athletic's Jovan Buha:
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
Tristan Thompson, 32, played 12 years in the NBA for five different teams. He's best known for his years as a Cleveland Cavalier and his role on the 2016 championship team. Thompson averaged 9.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game across 619 games with the Cavaliers (429 starts).
Meanwhile, Tony Bradley, 25, is in his sixth year in the NBA. He played 19 games for the Bulls during the 2022-23 campaign and averaged 1.6 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.1 assists during that span.
It remains to be seen if Thompson or Bradley will end up playing for the Lakers this season. But Thompson certainly stands out as the more accomplished center of the two. Plus, he has a close relationship with current Lakers star LeBron James that dates back to their time in Cleveland together.
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