According to ESPN, the Nuggets have traded second-year guard Bones Hyland to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Hyland is a decent bench scorer for Denver, but he has been linked to a trade for several weeks.
In exchange, Denver will receive two second-round picks.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Lakers are also dealing center Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Davon Reed and three second-round picks. The Lakers will acquire second-round picks from Denver in 2025, 2026, and 2029.
Bryant agreed to a one-year contract with the Lakers prior to the start of the season, and he was quite effective throughout his time in Los Angeles.
Bryant averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game with the Lakers in 41 appearances (25 starts). He’ll be a quality center option for the Nuggets behind reigning two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Bryant was likely on board with the move since he had grown dissatisfied with his status in Los Angeles and begged the Lakers to find him a better situation. Bryant is playing for a contract this season, so it seems to reason that he would want to play as much as possible to demonstrate his abilities.
And, given the Lakers’ inability to re-sign Bryant throughout the offseason due to a lack of financial freedom, it makes sense that they’d want to acquire something in return for him rather than lose him for nothing.
For the Lakers, moving Bryant frees up minutes in the frontcourt for newcomer Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel. It also implies that Anthony Davis will be required to spend more time at the center position, which he has previously refused to do. It’s unclear how much Reed will contribute to the Lakers. This season, he participated in 35 games for the Nuggets, averaging 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in nine minutes.