6. Tristan Thompson
Life without LeBron James on your team isn’t nearly as easy as evidenced by the aforementioned point guard and LeBron’s former center in Cleveland Tristan Thompson. In an increasingly positionless league and without the best player in the league to find easy buckets Thompson has bounced around the league struggling at each stop.
The Lakers have attempted to replace the role Dwight Howard had on the 2020 championship team with a myriad of options including bringing back Dwight himself. The answer to this offseason at the center position should be Thompson. Tristan still plays tough defense and would be a great pick-and-roll option for LeBron and the Lakers.
A Cleveland reunion in L.A. makes sense for both sides and is certainly within the Lakers’ budget. Thompson could serve as the Los Angeles Lakers’ option at center to be utilized just as they did in the 2020 season.
In some games, Tristan would play a huge role while he would be sitting on the bench in others. At this point in his career, Tristan would accept this role and give the Lakers an option at center LeBron will work well with. Thompson to L.A. makes sense and would be one of the more predictable moves of the off-season.