Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt looks gorgeous on the street in an eye-catching outfit

Former Lakers Center And LeBron James Friend Returns Home

Huge dude After signing with your Los Angeles Lakers on the final day of the 2023 regular season as a break-glass in case of emerge𝚗cy postseason addition, Tristan Thompson is finalizing a new agreement to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the organization that selected him. Rich Paul, Thompson’s agent, contacted Shams Charania of The Athletic to share the news of his client’s new contract as a 6’9″ power forward/center. With the fourth overall choice in the 2011 draft, Cleveland selected Tristan Thompson from The University of Texas at Austin.

They also landed future All-NBA point guard Kyrie Irving from Duke in the exciting 2011 draft. LeBron James, now an All-Star for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Love, now a key cog for the Miami Heat, J.R. Smith, and others would round out that core and help the team win a title.

With Thompson in the starting lineup or contributing significantly off the bench, the Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals in four consecutive seasons (2015–18) and won in 2016. The 32-year-old native of Hidden Hills signed with Los Angeles as a frontcourt depth piece during the team’s surprising run to the Western Conference Finals. The only time Darvin Ham used Tristan Thompson as a backup center was in Game 4 of a 113-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

During his 9:41 of playing time, Thompson shot 2 for 4 from the field, scored 4 points, grabbed 1 board, and defended the paint well. After spending the 2022–2023 season unemployed, Thompson, a friend of James’ from their time together on the Cavaliers, signed with the Lakers. After joining the Lakers, he provided veteran guidance to a youthful group of players who had not to see any postseason success. With a deep Cleveland squad, he won’t be able to match his career averages of nine points on 51.9% shooting and 8.4 boards through 730 regular season games, but it’s still great to see him back with his namesake NBA organization. Especially considering he was not going to play any significant role in the newly reconstructed Los Angeles frontcourt for the 2023–24 season.