Lakers trade Patrick Beverley to Magic for Mo Bamba

The Los Angeles Lakers have been very active leading up to this year’s NBA trade deadline, which was 3:00 p.m. New York time on Thursday.

They first sent little-used guard Kendrick Nunn and second-round draft compensation to the Washington Wizards for forward Rui Hachimura. Hachimura quickly moved into the starting lineup, and although he is still feeling his way into the team’s offense, he is clearly something of an upgrade.

Before his arrival, Los Angeles had a clear dearth of productive forwards other than LeBron James.

Then on Wednesday, it made a big move, getting rid of Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones, plus a 2027 first-round pick for guard D’Angelo Russell, big man Jarred Vanderbilt and sharpshooter Malik Beasley.

Now, right before the NBA trade deadline on Thursday, the Lakers made yet another move, sending Patrick Beverley and second-round draft capital to the Orlando Magic for center Mo Bamba.

Bamba will greatly fortify a Lakers frontline that suddenly looks very strong.

He’s averaging 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots in 17.0 minutes per game this season, and he will give L.A. a true center who can protect the rim, grab rebounds and finish strong at the hoop.

But Bamba can also stretch the floor. He is shooting 39.8 percent from 3-point range this year on 2.7 attempts per game, and along with Russell and Beasley, he should greatly address the Lakers’ lack of outside shooting.

General manager Rob Pelinka has somehow managed to greatly replenish his team’s roster and rectify at least some of its issues despite a lack of trade assets.

The Lakers will be losing a fan favorite

In a separate move, Los Angeles also jettisoned center Thomas Bryant, sending him to the Denver Nuggets while receiving shooting guard Davon Reed and three second-round draft picks.

Reed will give the Lakers yet another reliable 3-point shooter who is hitting 36.4 percent from that distance this year and has a career accuracy of 38.4 percent from downtown.

Bryant played well for the Lakers, especially when Anthony Davis went down with a right foot stress injury. But ever since Davis has returned, Bryant has seen his playing time drop precipitously, and he reportedly wanted to be traded as a result.

From all appearances, they have upgraded from Bryant by getting Bamba.

Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire