Lakers Rumors: LA potentially targeting pointless former LeBron teammate

The Los Angeles Lakers are turning to the buyout market to raise the floor of the team following the 2022 NBA trade deadline. While the Lakers rumors were not very prominent during the deadline, they have increased with the buyout market.

The Lakers are at a point in desperation and any player that they can add to help they should be interested in. Heck, even Dennis Schroder makes sense for the team after he was traded to the Houston Rockets.

However, not every potential buyout target makes sense and the Lakers could easily make the wrong decision. It appears that the Lakers could end up doing just that, as a pointless former teammate of LeBron James is a potential buyout target.

Lakers rumors: Tristian Thompson is a possible buyout target for LA.

Tristan Thompson. You read that right. Shams Charania of The Athletic said on Bally Sports’ The Rally that the Lakers would be pursuing the “Goran Dragic and Tristan Thompsons on of the world”.

It is not all that surprising that Thompson would be a potential target for the Lakers. He is a former teammate of LeBron James who LeBron really seemed to enjoy playing with while also being a client of Klutch Sports. And as you unfortunately know, Klutch Sports seems to have way too much say on what the Lakers are doing on a day-to-day basis.

From a basketball standpoint, Thompson does not make a lot of sense on this Lakers team. Who looks at the way the team is playing right now and thinks “man, you know who would really help this team? Tristan Thompson!”.

Thompson is no better than Dwight Howard is and the Lakers are hardly even playing Howard. Sure, on paper the Lakers would be improving if they cut DeAndre Jordan for Tristan Thompson but the team does not need a second big. All they need is Howard and they should be playing him more.

Instead, it would help the team much more if they waived Jordan and signed a defensive-minded wing. Someone like DeAndre’ Bembry makes far more sense for the Lakers than Tristan Thompson does. Thompson adds absolutely nothing new to the team that it does not currently have.

This would be yet another example of poor roster management by the Los Angeles Lakers front office. While no buyout signing is going to bring wholesale changes to the team, the front office should still be trying to add the best players possible.

If Thompson is the last possible option then sure, sign him, I get it. But if these Lakers rumors are true and the team is actively pursuing Thompson, then boy, are they in trouble.