Lakers call up Gary Payton II, Thomas Bryant

In an effort to get warm bodies on the roster, the Los Angeles Lakers have called up Gary Payton II and Thomas Bryant, who have spent the majority of the NBA regular season in the G League with the South Bay Lakers.

Bryant is under contract with the Lakers after being selected with the No. 42 pick in last year’s draft, while Payton signed a two-way contract with the Lakers in January. Both players will be available Monday in Detroit when the Lakers take on the Pistons.

Bryant has only appeared in 10 games for Los Angeles this season, but he’s been an absolute monster for South Bay, averaging 19.7 points on 36 percent shooting from behind the arc (5 attempts per game) to go along with 7.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. Did I mention he’s 6’11?

Payton has also started to find his stride with South Bay, scoring at least 25 points in his last four games, including a 30-point, 9-assists performance in the South Bay Lakers’ regular season finale.

With Isaiah Thomas out for Monday’s game, Payton will likely see the floor more than Bryant, who plays one of the Lakers’ most clogged positions. However, with Ivica Zubac showing a major regression in the past few weeks, Bryant could see some minutes at the five as well.

You can check out our game preview for Monday night’s game here.

All stats were provided by gleague.nba.com.