Lakers Rumors: Thomas Bryant Traded to Nuggets for Davon Reed, 3 2nd-Round Picks

The new-look Los Angeles Lakers won't include Thomas Bryant.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers are trading the veteran center to the Denver Nuggets for Davon Reed and second-round picks in 2025, 2026 and 2029.

This comes after Los Angeles reportedly agreed to a three-team deal that will send Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz and bring D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt to the West Coast.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN provided more context behind the transaction:

Bryant averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds and shot 65.4 percent from the field in 41 games with Los Angeles. His last appearance was a memorable one.

The acquisition of Vanderbilt helped the Lakers fortify their frontcourt depth. Still, some might be surprised to see Bryant go because he was a solid backup big behind Anthony Davis. He provided reliable scoring inside his work on the boards helped his team average the fifth-most rebounds (45.1 per game) in the league.

General manager Rob Pelinka is helping to strengthen a Western Conference rival as well. Bryant is a clear upgrade for Denver over DeAndre Jordan and Zeke Nnaji when Nikola Jokić goes to the bench.

The Nuggets didn't surrender a ton of value, either. Second-rounders, especially for a team in their position, typically don't amount to much, and Reed was averaging just nine minutes off the bench this year.

In general, Pelinka has done well to upgrade the supporting cast around Davis and LeBron James. Absent another deal, though, fans might wonder whether trading Bryant away was a misstep.