While the Los Angeles Lakers have a good, if not a very good, roster right now, most would agree that they’re one or two role or complementary players short of being a true championship contender.

One deficiency many point to is their lack of strong options as far as backup centers. Newcomer Deandre Ayton should be a major upgrade at the starting center spot, but second-stringer Jaxson Hayes is very limited offensively, and it is anyone’s guess whether Maxi Kleber will contribute anything of note after the serious foot injury he suffered in January.

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Siddhant Gupta of Fadeaway World had an interesting suggestion — he wrote that the Lakers should bring back Thomas Bryant.

“Having made a trip to the NBA Finals with the Pacers, it is evident that Bryant has racked up experience in the playoffs, making him a solid presence on the bench and in the locker room,” Gupta wrote.

“When also considering his flexibility as an inside presence and as a floor spacer, the Purple and Gold could benefit from adding him to the bench rotation. Although his first two stints with the team were short-lived, the Lakers could look to play him in a more significant capacity if they bring him back for a third. Adding him would also prove to be valuable insurance in case of any injuries.”

Bryant, a second-round draft choice in 2017, spent his rookie year with the Lakers and returned to the team for the 2022-23 season. They traded him midway through that season to the Denver Nuggets, allowing him to win an NBA championship.

While he offers no real rim protection, he has historically been an accurate 3-point shooter. Plenty of people feel L.A. needs a backup center who can space the floor in order to open up things for Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves in the middle of the floor. Ayton’s range only extends to just over 15 feet out, and Hayes has no jumper to speak of.

However, Bryant may have lost his 3-point shooting touch lately. He made 32.4% of his attempts from downtown last season, and the season before that, he shot an icy 18.2% from that distance.

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While the Lakers have an open roster spot, they currently don’t have enough space under the first apron to sign another player. That will change at some point during this season when enough time has passed that a prorated veteran’s minimum salary would fit under that apron.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Writer says Lakers should bring back former big man