In the waning hours before the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers shipped off a third of their roster as they look to shore up the team to make a playoff run.
One day after the Lakers traded away Russell Westbrook and two other players in a three-team transaction, the Lakers sent Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Davon Reed and three second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
“Bryant has given the Lakers some productive and high-energy stretches this season, averaging 12 points and 6.8 rebounds in 21 minutes. Physical addition to Nuggets’ frontline,” Woj added.
A couple hours later, another Lakers trade was announced by Woj, this one sending Laker Patrick Beverley to Orlando for Mo Bamba.
The Thursday transactions likely came as a surprise to the players involved.
Wednesday evening, Beverley posted to Twitter a celebration of the Wednesday trade, which brought to the Lakers D’Angelo Russell, who played his first two NBA seasons in Los Angeles after he was drafted No. 2 overall in 2015.
Beverley and Russell were teammates in Minnesota last season.
“The gang is Back❤️,” Beverley responded to a tweet by ESPN’s “SportsCenter” about the reunion.
In addition to the former MVP Westbrook, Wednesday’s trade sent Juan Toscano-Anderson and center Damian Jones to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team deal also involving the Minnesota Timberwolves. In return, the Lakers received Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.