Tristan Thompson – Indiana Pacers
DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard have been dreadful for the Lakers this season at the center position and once again, Anthony Davis is the lone big man actually contributing.
The center position was a problem for the Lakers last season, even after they brought in Andre Drummond during the buyout period.
Adding another impactful big man to take pressure off of Davis is key, which is why someone like Tristan Thompson could make a lot of sense for the Lakers.
Thompson was recently included in a trade between the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers, which resulted in Domantas Sabonis going to the Kings and Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson making their way to Indiana.
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The Pacers are going through some kind of rebuild/retooling process right now and their frontcourt is a little crowded right now.
The status of Myles Turner for the rest of the season will likely result in Thompson’s future with the Pacers this season, but they do still have Goga Bitadze and rookie Isaiah Jackson as big men options in addition to Jalen Smith.
In the final year of his contract and making $9.7 million, Tristan Thompson finds himself as a very intriguing buyout option over the course of the next couple of weeks.
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Dating back to their days with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tristan Thompson has a strong relationship with LeBron James and what do you know, Thompson is represented by Klutch Sports and Rich Paul, another LeBron James connection.
It would not be shocking to see the Lakers turn their attention to bringing in Thompson should he be released by the Indiana Pacers, but they do have some other needs on their roster, primarily on the perimeter.
