LeBron James-led teams have been known to make midseason moves if something is not clicking by the trade deadline. You can definitely say that something is not clicking with the Los Angeles Lakers, who have struggled to hover around .500 this season without that tough of a schedule.
Nothing about the Lakers right now screams title contender, especially with the way the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors are playing. With the Lakers being 30% through the 2021-22 season, it is safe to say that we have a good idea of what the team is going to be this season.
And if Rob Pelinka is paying attention then he would know that this team is not good enough to win a championship. Thus, moves could be around the corner, especially after December 15, which is when recently-signed players can be traded.
The problem is that the Los Angeles Lakers only have one real trade asset.
Talen Horton-Tucker is the only trade asset of value on the Los Angeles Lakers.
If the Lakers are going to make a trade at the deadline then it is going to have to include Talen Horton-Tucker, who just signed a three-year deal with the team in the offseason. We have already broken down seven potential THT trade packages and it was definitely met with a mixed response.
While I personally don’t see THT being traded, you can definitely break down several reasons why the Lakers should part ways with the 21-year-old. However, there are also compelling reasons against trading him as well.
In this article, we break down all of the reasons for and against the Lakers potentially trading away THT. Let’s start with a reason for trading him… outside of him being the only trade asset, which is obviously a reason for trading him.
Reason for: Despite the record, the Los Angeles Lakers are in championship or bust mode
Most teams that are hovering around .500 and are an eighth seed are not going to trade a young asset. However, despite the slow start, this is still a Los Angeles Lakers team that is title or bust this season. Anything short of a trip to the NBA Finals is a disappointment for the Lakers, regardless of what it looks like right now.
That could make the team more inclined to move on from their only trade asset in THT. Rob Pelinka understands that the team really has no outs because of the Westbrook contract and if the right package for THT presents itself then he might just jump on it.
This is different than previous seasons as well. While there were aspirations, LeBron’s first season with the Lakers was not a title or bust season. The Lakers were essentially waiting for Anthony Davis and were going to add complementary pieces that did not impact the cap too much.
This is different. There are no players that the Lakers are waiting for and quite frankly, there is not even another avenue that the team can explore. It has locked in this big three for the next two seasons with the goal of winning a championship.
For that reason, it might become easier to simply trade THT for a better asset and cross that bridge once it gets there.
Reason against: Buying high on Talen Horton Tucker’s potential
The Los Angeles Lakers are obviously very high on Talen Horton-Tucker. The team traded into the second round without a pick that way they could trade THT and they have kept him out of deals ever since. Even when he was not contributing to the team he felt nearly untouchable.
We saw flashes of potential in THT early on with the big wakeup call being the 2020 preseason. THT was spectacular in that preseason and the rest of the basketball world finally saw what the Lakers saw.
The profile was always there. THT profiled as a long combo-guard who played good defense and his size, athleticism and skillset always seemed to translate well to the NBA. He still had to go out and prove it and he has done that.
The crazy part is that he is still only 21 years old and his first few seasons with the Lakers are essentially his college seasons. He is way ahead of the curve for a second-round pick and there is the potential that in four years he is one of the best two-way guards in the league.
It is safe to say that THT has borderline all-star potential. He is never going to be a mega superstar and he is going to have to get more consistent with his scoring to be an all-star in this league. However, at the very least, THT is going to blossom into a great two-way guard who is going to be extremely valuable to any contending team.
Reason for: The Los Angeles Lakers might not even see Talen Horton-Tucker’s potential in the purple and gold
We just broke down all of the potential that Talen Horton-Tucker has as a pro so this reason for might not make a ton of sense. While I personally believe THT’s floor is that of a solid rotation player on a contending team, there is a chance that the Lakers don’t get to see THT’s ceiling happen in LA.
The reason being is THT’s age and the duration of his contract. THT signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers this past offseason that has a player option for the third season. Unless he starts to play poorly, THT is likely going to opt-out of that deal to make more money.
Even if he opts into that final year the most the Lakers are guaranteed of THT is three seasons. THT will turn 23 in his final season under contract with the Lakers and by then he might just be scratching the surface of his ceiling.
Heck, he might not be hitting his ceiling at all as a Laker at that point. There are two realities that could happen and both could lead to him leaving the Lakers. The first is that THT really starts to show signs of making that leap at the end of his contract, prompting another team to offer him an insane deal that the Lakers can’t match.
The other possibility is that THT does not start to reach that prime yet and the Lakers don’t want to pay him a decent-sized contract while another team might. This could very well be a Julius Randle situation where THT doesn’t peak until 3-4 years after his final season with the Lakers.
We can talk about his potential and how he can impact the Lakers all we want but he can very well leave in three years. This is not a quarterback where you know you can lock them up for their entire career.
Reason against: Talen Horton-Tucker is a producer now
Talen Horton-Tucker missed the beginning of the season with an injury and was really good once he returned. While he cooled off from his hot start, there are still all the makings of THT having a breakout season for the Lakers this season.
That is what makes this so tricky for the Lakers. Talen Horton-Tucker is the only trade asset that the team has but he is also an important part of the rotation. The team would have to be 100% sure that it is getting an upgrade and there might not even be that package out there.
The value of Horton-Tucker lies in what he produces for the team. If he was just another scorer then the team could replace him with a better scorer or with depth. Instead, THT is arguably the team’s best perimeter defender, which is really important.
The Lakers have gone from one of the best defensive teams in the league to one of the worse and one of the team’s only hopes is in the playoffs is to give THT decent minutes to provide good perimeter defense alongside Anthony Davis.
Sure, it does not help the floor spacing but they are going to have to figure it out. They cannot close games with Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk/Wayne Ellington and Carmelo Anthony on the floor. The defense there is horrendous and there are too many holes to exploit.
Unless the Lakers are getting a true knockout defender in a trade that also contributes offensively then it might not be much of an upgrade at all, even with as raw as THT is.