Without a contract since the end of last season and a short stint at the Bulls, Tristan Thompson is returning to the NBA. The interior is committed with the Lakers until the end of the season.
The Lakers are not even guaranteed to be in the Playoffs yet and yet, in the offices of the franchise, we are already anticipating by recruiting additional weapons to play elbows in the postseason. Free since leaving Chicago in 2022 and recently tested by the Purple and Gold, Tristan Thompson has obviously convinced Darvin Ham to offer him a spot in his group. Dave McMenamin d’ESPN announces today that the franchise has signed the Ontario native for the Playoffs.
The Lakers are signing two players today to add depth for the postseason, sources told ESPN. L.A. will sign guard Shaq Harrison, a defensive-minded point guard, and Tristan Thompson, a veteran center with playoff experience on LeBron James’ teams in Cleveland. Both players…
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 9, 2023
LA thus adds a good dose of experience to its roster. Thompson is 88 Playoff games and four appearances in the NBA Finals, including a title in 2016 in Cleveland with a certain… LeBron James. The King therefore finds a guy he knows inside out.
A pivot with a defensive profile, a good rebounder, Thompson is the kind of soldier you send to coal and who knows his role, even if his performance has clearly dropped in recent years and he has not played for a while. It remains to be seen now what playing time will be his with the Purple and Gold. Anthony Davis having become pivot holder, it will be necessary to elbow with Mo Bamba and Wenyen Gabriel for the minutes in the racket.
Another small scred’ signing for LA: Shaq Harrison, who reinforces the lead and should logically sit at the end of the bench. With the Lakers only having one free spot for these two players, some room had to be made and it was Devon Reed who was cut by the franchise. Since his trade at the deadline, the former Denver was satisfied with the crumbs (3 minutes of playing time, only 8 games played) and he would probably not have seen the field in the Playoffs.
Source texte : Dave McMenamin / ESPN