The Los Angeles Lakers were quite active in completing moves ahead of this year’s NBA trade deadline. Among the moves that the Lakers finalized in the final hours before the trade deadline, they sent Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers’ decision to part ways with Bryant came following his request to be traded, as noted by Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. Bryant requested a trade from the team after his “minutes diminished” following Anthony Davis' return from injury. Davis made his return to action in late January after being sidelined due to a right foot injury.
Haynes added that Bryant “felt he deserved minutes.”
Bryant was a regular in the Lakers’ rotation during Davis’ absence, but this all changed once the eight-time All-Star returned to the floor. Overall, Bryant featured in at least 20 minutes of just two out of the final seven games of his run with the Lakers.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also noted that from the Lakers’ standpoint, they “knew” that the versatile center had “outplayed” the minimum contract that they could offer him in the offseason.
Bryant capped off his run with the Lakers after 41 regular season games played, where the soon-to-be-free agent posted a 12.1 points per game average on a career-high 65.4 percent shooting. Los Angeles will now count on the likes of new additions Jarred Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba to provide depth at the center position over the remainder of the season.
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