Report: Tristan Thompson was in ‘good shape’ at Lakers workout, Tony Bradley was also there

Late last night, we got word that the Los Angeles Lakers would be working out centers Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley this week as they continue to search the market for an emergency backup big in the wake of Mo Bamba’s injury.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania while appearing on Bally Sports’ “The Rally,” those workouts have already taken place. The details were scant, but here is what he had to say:

“I’m told the Lakers worked out both Tristan Thompson and Tony Bradley. I’m told Thompson was in good shape. Tony Bradley, he’s a guy that played this year for the Bulls, there’s a little more recency with his level of play. Tristan Thompson has yet to play this year... He finished (last) year with the Bulls, actually was a teammate of Tony Bradley’s, supplanted him in the rotation last season in the rotation when the Bulls got him in the buyout market. So we’ll see. The Lakers have one open roster spot, they’ve looked into big men in the market place, we’ll see if they decide to sign Thompson or Tony Bradley in the coming days.”

Whether Thompson was in “good shape” for an ESPN analyst who has not played pro basketball this year or “good shape” for a player the Lakers might need in spot minutes is anyone’s guess, but by far the funnier part of this is Shams not even dropping any such bare-minimum platitudes for Bradley.

He couldn’t even get an “also in shape?” Just a reminder that he has indeed played in the NBA before? Damn. For a player who our friends over at Blog A Bull described as having “his greatest success as a Bull come when he got the team to give him a player option for the 2nd year of his deal signed in the summer of 2021,” maybe that lack of positives is also not surprising, but still, very funny.

As Shams says, we’ll see if the Lakers actually sign either of these guys. Given that Wenyen Gabriel has been playing really well lately and Anthony Davis is reportedly going to play in the team’s only remaining back-to-back this season, I’m not really sold the Lakers actually need either of these guys. But I also don’t care about the Lakers’ luxury tax payments, either, so hey, if they want to spend the money on someone for a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency scenario, I certainly won’t stop them from making a move that almost certainly has no downside.

You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.