Lakers Flip Thomas Bryant, Patrick Beverly For Davon Reed and Mo Bamba at Trade Deadline

The trade bolsters the Nuggets frontcourt depth, but momentarily left the Lakers without a backup center. The only other true center on their roster, Damian Jones, was traded to the Utah Jazz in the Westbrook deal that landed former Minnesota Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell back in Los Angeles.

However, minutes later, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the Lakers had acquired center Mo Bamba from the Orlando Magic in exchange for veteran point guard Patrick Beverly.

The Lakers reportedly sent one of the second-round draft picks they acquired from the Nuggets in the Thomas Bryant trade to the Magic with Beverley. The 34-year-old averaged just 6.4 points and 2.6 assists in 45 games with the Lakers this season.

Bamba, provides the Lakers with much-needed frontcourt depth in the absence of Jones and Bryant, and injects the team with youth, energy, and rebounding (something they desperately needed). Bamba was averaging 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game this season with the Magic.

In the last few weeks, the Lakers have dramatically revamped their roster adding Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba, Malik Beasley, and D’Angelo Russell. The moves make the Lakers longer, younger, more athletic, and more versatile. They also significantly bolstered two areas of need: rebounding and three-point shooing.

Prior to the trade deadline, the Lakers only had three players on their roster shooting over 35 percent from beyond the arc. Now they have six.