The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired wing Davon Reed and three second-round picks from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for center Thomas Bryant.
Reed is a former second-round pick of the Phoenix Suns in 2017 but has spent the last two seasons with the Nuggets where he has been a fringe rotation player. He is a potential 3-and-D option but is most known for his shooting ability and is a career 38.4 percent 3-point shooter.
Reed has had quite the basketball journey in his career so far. A four-year player at the University of Miami, he was named to the All-Atlantic Coast defensive team in addition to being nearly a 40 percent 3-point shooter in his college career. After spending his first two NBA seasons in Phoenix and Indiana, Reed found himself in the G League in 2020 followed by a stint in the P. League+ in Taiwan.
In 2021, Reed would get his shot with the Nuggets’ Summer League team and while he didn’t initially make the team, he would eventually be brought back on multiple 10-day contracts before Denver signed him on a two-way deal. This past offseason Reed signed a two-year contract.
Reed appeared in 83 games over two seasons with the Nuggets, averaging 3.5 points on 40.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
The Lakers dealt away center Thomas Bryant in the move after the center had an excellent run in his second stint with the franchise, filling in admirably while superstar Anthony Davis was injured. Bryant averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds on 65.4 percent shooting and 44 percent from 3-point range.
In 25 games as a starter, Bryant’s numbers increased to 14.5 points and 8.6 rebounds while knocking down 47.2 percent from 3-point range. He began to fall out of the rotation since Anthony Davis came back though, resulting in a trade to allow him to go somewhere he can get more action.
Lakers acquire D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt in three-team trade
This is the second move the Lakers have made ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline as the day before, the team dealt away Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal that also included the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers traded Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damien Jones and their 2027 first-round pick to the Jazz in exchange for Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell, as well as wing Malik Beasley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt from the Jazz. The Timberwolves received Jazz point guard Mike Conley in the trade.
This move gives the Lakers a pair of shooters to put around LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as one of the best defensive forwards in Vanderbilt who can also be a small-ball center if necessary.
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