The Los Angeles Lakers signed centre Tristan Thompson and guard Shaq Harrison on Sunday before their pivotal final game of the regular season.
The Lakers waived Davon Reed to make room on the roster before they faced the Utah Jazz.
Thompson played alongside LeBron James during his nine seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning an NBA title in 2016. The 32-year-old from Brampton, Ont., has yet to play in the NBA this season, which would be his 12th in the league.
Harrison’s 10-day contract with Portland expired this weekend after he averaged 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists in five appearances for the Trail Blazers. The Lakers will be his seventh NBA team, but he spent most of this season playing for the Lakers’ G League affiliate.
The Lakers acquired Reed in a four-team trade at the deadline, but he didn’t crack their rotation.
The Lakers went without a true backup centre behind Anthony Davis during the lengthy injury absence of Mo Bamba, who returned to the court Friday for the first time since March 5.
Los Angeles has been one of the NBA’s most successful teams down the stretch, going 17-9 since the trade deadline. Even after a 2-10 start to the season, the Lakers (42-39) clinched a winning record with a victory over Phoenix two days ago.
There isn’t a single playoff or play-in tournament matchup set in the Western Conference.
The top four seeds are Denver, Memphis, Sacramento and Phoenix Suns, while the Oklahoma City Thunder is the No. 10-seeded team.
The five to nine seeds could go in different directions on Sunday. The L.A. Clippers (43-38), Golden State Warriors (43-38), Lakers (42-39), New Orleans Pelicans (42-39) and Minnesota Timberwolves (41-40) are the teams.
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