Lakers to sign Tristan Thompson, Shaq Harrison for postseason run

The Lakers look at their roster, look at the state of the West, and believe they could have a deep playoff run ahead of them. Even if they have to start it in the play-in tournament.

To bolster their roster for that run, they are signing veteran big man Tristan Thompson and combo guard Shaq Harrison, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

The Lakers are signing two players today to add depth for the postseason, sources told ESPN. L.A. will sign guard Shaq Harrison, a defensive-minded point guard, and Tristan Thompson, a veteran center with playoff experience on LeBron James’ teams in Cleveland. Both players…

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 9, 2023

Thompson and Harrison are both playoff eligible because they were not on an NBA contract with another team.

Thompson is an 11-year veteran known for his solid play on both ends of the court, and he has the trust of LeBron James as a Cleveland teammate he won a ring with in 2016. Harrison was with the Lakers during training camp but was not part of the opening day roster (he did play one game for the G-League South Bay Lakers, plus get a 10-day contract with the Trail Blazers this season).

The duo can give the Lakers a little bench depth and have healthy bodies for the starters to go against in practice, however, if either is seeing important playoff minutes for Los Angeles it will be a bad sign.

Luka Dončić will not be traded this summer.

He is just one year into a five-year max contract in Dallas (with a player option in that final year), Dončić has shot down talk of him leaving, and there is zero chance owner Mark Cuban will trade the Mavericks’ superstar until forced to do so.

But he might be forced to if the Mavericks have another season like this. Dončić was clearly frustrated as