NBA Rumors: Wizards claim Lakers center Thomas Bryant off of waivers

The Los Angeles Lakers cut Thomas Bryant over the weekend, and it seems the promising rookie big man will not clear waivers and will be claimed by the Washington Wizards, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

When the Lakers waived Bryant, it was sort of a shock, as most predicted the team would ease it’s young big man log jam by cutting Ivica Zubac, who was both more expensive and showed less promise last season.

Instead, the Lakers opted to hold on to Zubac, potentially because they like what they’ve seen from him this summer, or maybe because Bryant’s skillset was seen as redundant with new first-round pick Moe Wagner, who is also a floor-spacing big man.

Either way, some Lakers fans seemed to hold out hope that Bryant would clear waivers, but after a season that saw him as a legit contender for G League MVP as a 20-year-old, there was reason to get attached to the second-round pick.

Alas, that attachment is over now, as the Lakers are firmly in win-now mode after signing LeBron James, making a flurry of moves that have made their roster nearly unrecognizable from last season.

Bryant would have been worth keeping around for a team that can build slowly, but the Lakers are doing that anymore. If that’s the price to add LeBron, most fans will surely take the trade-off.

To track all of the latest free agency rumors about the Lakers, go to this page. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.