Lakers Rumors: Austin Reaves & Thomas Bryant Have Been Standout Performers In Player Workouts https://t.co/lQNMgddVWc via @lakersnation
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 2, 2022
So far, both players seem to be making strong arguments to be major parts of the Lakers’ rotation as Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that Reaves and Bryant have been two of the main standouts in player workouts so far:
Reaves and Thomas Bryant have been two of the standout performers in player workouts, league sources told The Athletic.
Buha noted that Reaves has bulked up to 209 pounds, which is a huge deal for defensive purposes. Reaves showed himself to be a positive defender last season but simply didn’t have the size to match up physically with bigger wings and he obviously plans on changing that. Doing that while improving on his 31.7% shooting from 3-point range will basically guarantee Reaves a major role if not a starting spot.
Bryant returning to form would be massive for the Lakers as he looked to be a very promising big man in Washington before unfortunately tearing his ACL. Bryant averaged 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 2020 while knocking down 40.7% of his 3-pointers and was off to a great start in 2021 before the injury. He didn’t look like himself upon returning last season, but with even more time removed from the ACL injury, Bryant has an opportunity to surprise a lot of people.
This is what I’ve been waiting to hear. I have saying that Bryant could be a huge bargain if he returns to form. He’s a better rebounder than Turner, 3 point shooter, and is one of the best bigs in the league at running the floor. Miles is of course a better shot blocker but Thomas is pretty good. The only reason he is even on the team is because of the injury. Bryant is one of the reasons I favor trades that will bring in players with a skill set that we need more than shot blocking. AD already gives us one of best shot blockers in the league.