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The LA Lakers have begun working out veteran free agent big men in hopes of finding a replacement for injured reserve center Mo Bamba.
In other news, two NBA insiders have shed some light on Malik Beasley and Rui Hachimura’s likeliness to remain in LA long-term. On that note, here are the latest rumors surrounding the LA Lakers as of Mar. 21, 2023.
LA Lakers work out multiple veteran big men
The LA Lakers worked out veteran big men Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley on Monday (Mar. 20), according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Charania broke down what he heard regarding the workout during an appearance on Bally Sports’ “The Rally,” on Monday night. He noted that Thompson was in good shape and added that the Lakers have been looking to fill their open roster spot with a center for a while:
“I’m told the Lakers worked out both Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley today. I’m told Thompson was in good shape,” Charania reported.
He continued:
“Tony Bradley, he’s a guy that played this year for the Bulls; there’s a little more recency with his level of play. Tristan Thompson has yet to play this year. He finished (last) year with the Bulls, actually was a teammate of Tony Bradley’s, supplanted him in the rotation last season once the Bulls got him in the buyout market. So we'll see.
“The Lakers have one open roster spot; they’ve looked into big men in the marketplace. We’ll see if they decide to sign Thompson or Tony Bradley in the coming days,” Charania continued.
Thompson averaged 6.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game on 52.8% shooting over 57 games with Sacramento, Indiana and Chicago last season. Meanwhile, Bradley averaged 1.6 ppg and 0.9 rpg on 50.0% shooting over 12 games with Chicago earlier this season.
Mo Bamba is expected to miss at least another couple of weeks with a high left ankle sprain. Meanwhile, Wenyen Gabriel, the Lakers’ only other reserve big, is only 6-foot-9. It remains to be seen if the Lakers (35-37, 11th in the West) will rectify the situation by signing another center in the coming days.
LA Lakers looking to keep Malik Beasley, Rui Hachimura long-term
The LA Lakers made multiple moves ahead of the trade deadline. In doing so, the team got younger while adding shooting and defense.
Two of the Lakers’ midseason additions were sharpshooter Malik Beasley and forward Rui Hachimura. Beasley has a team option worth $16.5 million this offseason, while Hachimura is set to become a restricted free agent. However, the Lakers are reportedly interested in retaining both players long term, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
The two NBA insiders recently sat down for an interview to discuss the future of LA’s core rotation players. The duo first touched on Beasley, highlighting his satisfaction in LA as well as the fact that he is the Lakers’ best shooter. Both agreed that the Lakers will likely pick up his team option:
"From what I’ve heard, Lakers executive Rob Pelinka has had interest in Beasley for a while, and this could be more than just a short-term thing since he has a $16.5 million team option for next season," Scotto said. "Beasley is loving it in LA. He’s starting on a winning team and will get the chance to play with LeBron more soon."
Buha replied:
"I do think they pick up Beasley’s team option. It’s just one of those situations where you don’t have the means to replace him. I think, as you saw in Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans, he can go off for seven threes in a half and light a team up.
"He’s the best shooter the Lakers have had in the LeBron and AD era. I don’t think it’s debatable in terms of the number of attempts he’s willing to get up, his confidence, and his percentage. He’s shot in the high 30s on seven or eight attempts a game for the last several years."
As for Hachimura, Buha thinks the Lakers could be willing to offer him as much as $10 million per season:
“I think the Lakers are going to try to retain him. … I think his range is around the non-taxpayer MLE. I think something in that 2/20 or 3/30 (range). Looking at his numbers in Washington versus LA, they’re almost identical across the board.
"I think the Lakers are going to make an offer around $10 million, and if he’s looking for more or another team is willing to come in and make a bigger offer, they might be willing to walk away. They were high enough on him to trade those three second-round picks, and they want to keep him."
Beasley is averaging 11.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.9 spg and 2.6 3pg on 38.0% shooting through 16 games with LA. Meanwhile, Hachimura is averaging 10.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.6 apg and 0.8 3pg on 47.9% shooting through 24 games with LA.
LA Lakers not interested in signing DeMarcus Cousins
With the LA Lakers looking to add center depth, many fans have been calling for LA to give former four-time All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins a chance.
However, according to Lakers Daily, LA has not considered the possibility of signing Cousins. This comes as Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is reportedly “not a fan” of the big man:
“Sources tell Lakers Daily that general manager Rob Pelinka is not a fan of Cousins. Apparently, he ‘left a bad taste in Pelinka’s mouth,’ and the team is ‘adamant’ about not signing him,” Lakers Daily reported.
The Lakers previously signed Cousins to a one-year deal in 2019. However, he suffered a torn ACL before the start of the 2019-20 season and was later waived midseason without playing a game for LA.
Cousins played 48 games for Milwaukee and Denver last season, averaging 9.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.7 spg and 0.8 3pg on 46.0% shooting.
Guess the Lakers players!
