What Thomas Bryant’s Return to the Lakers Means for Washington

Thomas Bryant|Getty Images

Amidst the chaos of NBA Free Agency, Thomas Bryant (C) set his sights on returning to Los Angeles. Bryant signed a one-year deal with the team that drafted (and later waived) him in 2017 and is eligible to be a starter in the Lakers’ lineup. During his time in Washington, Bryant played the role of the third-string center with an efficient offensive presence. An ACL injury sidelined him for most of the 2021-22 season, but Bryant returned to add meaningful minutes to Washington’s roster.

In this next phase of his career, Bryant will be adding meaningful minutes to the Los Angeles roster and leaves Washington in what could be a troubling position. With the loss of Bryant and the addition of Johnny Davis, Monte Morris, Will Barton, Delon Wright, and Bradley Beal’s return, the Wizards have become an incredibly offense-heavy team. Washington needs to restructure their lineup and support their current centers (Kristaps Porzingis, Daniel Gafford, Vernon Carey Jr., and Isaiah Todd) or look into signing another center while there’s time and players available.

As of July 7, there are 10 free agent centers that Washington could sign, ranging from the young, developing Deandre Ayton to the veteran Dwight Howard. At 23 years old and 6-foot-11, Ayton would acclimate well with the Wizards’ young, tall core. Ayton’s field goal percentage has also improved since the Suns drafted him in 2018, and last season he shot 63.4 percent from the field. 7-foot-3 Porzingis, the Wizards’ current starting center, only had a 47.5 percent field goal percentage, but Ayton and Porzingis have the same rate of three-point shot success. Together Ayton and Porzingis could provide more offensive consistency, and more threes, which are shots Porzingis notably likes to take.

Kristaps Porzingis in his debut as a Wizard | Josh Robbins

The Wizards are not lacking in height, thanks to their established and developing younger players. Center Daniel Gafford is 6-foot-9, and power forwards Kyle Kuzma and Rui Hachimura are 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-8, respectively. Small forward/wing Deni Avdija is also 6-foot-9”. If Ayton still has some growing to do and Phoenix is willing to pay to keep him, he could easily continue to develop in Phoenix, which would be alright.

The Wizards could use their existing height to support their centers and play stronger defense. Davis may be joining the team as a point guard, but he has a “desire to play defense,” according to Ava Wallace of the Washington Post. At the same time, Ayton would add considerable value and depth to the Wizards. Like Bryant, he would have an opportunity to develop in Washington and could maybe return to Phoenix after a few years in D.C.