Denver trades for Thomas Bryant
By Asher Levy
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers are trading Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets for Davon Reed and three second round picks. This is the first move of the day for the Nuggets, and could be the first of multiple or the sole move of the deadline for them.
The Nuggets have searched for an answer at backup center for this whole season, switching between DeAndre Jordan and Zeke Nnaji at different points in the season. Neither have been what the Nuggets were looking for though, so they went on the trade market and got one of the better available backup bigs for cheap.
Davon Reed hasn’t been in the rotation and the second round picks are in 2025, 2026, and 2029 (all of which are unprotected). This is a cheap price for a piece that could help bolster the Nuggets’ second unit on the offensive end of things.
Thomas Bryant this season has spent time in both the starting and bench lineups for the Lakers. He’s averaging 21.4 minutes per game and is averaging a solid 12.1 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, and shooting a league leading 71.2% TS% (65.4% from the field, 44% from beyond the arc).
He will provide a great roll man for whoever ends up being the bench ball handler, whether that be Bones Hyland or Bruce Brown. He’s a solid rebound, but a top end roller. On offense he can shoot, finish, and maybe could get into the Plumlee playbook that made the bench a fairly decent lineup early in the Jokic era.
His defense is another story though, he isn’t going to stop anyone in any sort of coverage and the defense will likely struggle whenever he’s on the floor. However, the Nuggets’ bench has struggled to find an identity this season and this acquisition may help.
It was a cheap move, and may not be a needle moving trade, but it is an upgrade at the deadline. There are a lot of moves being made, and many more to come. Davon Reed and 3 seconds were an easy package to part with, but Bones Hyland is still on the roster and available.