The Los Angeles Lakers made a number of moves at the trade deadline, one of which sent center Thomas Bryant, who had some huge games for L.A. in the first half of the season, to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Davon Reed and three second-round picks.
While Reed wasn’t any sort of big name, he was viewed as a player with some sleeper potential to contribute to the Lakers, namely due to his shooting ability. The former second-round pick out of Miami is a career 38.5% 3-point shooter and there were some who thought he could potentially find a spot within the Lakers’ rotation.
But with the Lakers also adding D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley to their backcourt at the trade deadline, and Austin Reaves emerging as one of the most important players on the team, Reed was never able to crack Darvin Ham’s rotation. He would ultimately appear in just eight games for the Lakers and scoring eight points total in his stint in Los Angeles.
The Lakers would waive Reed on the final day of the regular season in order to clear a roster spot to sign veteran big man Tristan Thompson as well as defensive guard Shaquille Harrison, who shined on the Lakers’ G League team, the South Bay Lakers.
2022-23 Highlight
In terms of his time with the Lakers, there just wasn’t much opportunity for Reed to make an impact or truly have a highlight during his stint in Los Angeles as he mostly played just garbage time minutes. He scored his first points as a Laker on Feb. 13 against the Portland Trail Blazers and hit his lone 3-pointer in purple and gold on Feb. 15 in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
In terms of his season as a whole, Reed had a solid stretch during his time with the Nuggets when given the opportunity to be in the rotation due to an injury to forward Michael Porter Jr. The best of these games would come against the Houston Rockets when Reed would knock down three 3-pointers and finish with nine points in a Denver victory.
2023-24 Outlook
Reed has yet to come into that opportunity in the NBA to truly show what he can do. At 28 years old, there is still a good chance for him to catch on with a team as players with his level of shooting ability will always get a chance.
Whether he winds up needing to play for a Summer League team or simply gets a training camp invite, Reed will at least have the opportunity to earn a spot on the roster somewhere, but it seems unlikely that will be with the Lakers.
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