The Los Angeles Lakers essentially chose to sign Talen Horton-Tucker over Alex Caruso last offseason with THT being the younger of the two players. It didn’t take long for that mistake to rear its ugly head as Caruso became an important member of the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers started shopping THT at the deadline.
It became clear quickly that other teams did not hold THT to the same trade value that the Lakers did. The offers that the Lakers were trying to get versus the offers that they were actually reportedly getting did not match in the slightest.
But still, trading THT is definitely on the table this offseason if the Lakers can get an asset that can help the team win a championship next season. Horton-Tucker was not very good last year and while he has potential, he is only under contract for two more years and that potential may not blossom until after that.
That is exactly what happened to Julius Randle and instead of getting something for him, the Lakers just let him walk for free.
This Talen Horton-Tucker trade reunites the team with a familiar face:
Yes, after all those years of proposing different trade packages that included Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, we have a deal in which the Lakers would be trading back for KCP.
But why would the Lakers do this? Why would the team essentially lick its wounds and try to acquire someone that they just traded a year ago? Let’s dive into the reasons why the Lakers could say yes to this trade and why the Washington Wizards could as well.