The Los Angeles Lakers bought a second-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft to select promising young combo-guard, Talen Horton-Tucker. THT, as dubbed by the fans, has had some big moments with the Lakers in which he showcased the potential that he has in the NBA.
That potential essentially caused the Lakers to sign THT over Alex Caruso last summer. With the team being over the luxury tax, it really only had an interest in signing one contract of that caliber and the front office went with the young player over the better player.
That is probably part of the reason why THT is reportedly untouchable this offseason unless the team can package him in a trade for an all-star. Spoiler alert: the Lakers are not going to package him for an all-star.
That should not stop the team from trading THT, though. While the Lakers should obviously not make any bad trades, THT certainly should not be untouchable this offseason.
Here are three reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers should definitely trade Talen Horton-Tucker this offseason:
1. He was not good at all last season
Granted, this hurts his trade value and could ultimately be the reason why the Lakers don’t trade him as other teams do not want to give up actual value for him. Horton-Tucker had a really bad season last year and was not making the team better in the slightest. He was probably making them worse.
Horton-Tucker was okay defensively but he was not even close to being good enough to make up for his offensive deficiencies. THT cannot shoot the basketball, has struggled in creating his own shot and can really only finish with one hand at the rim. He is as predictable as it gets offensively, at least when it comes to him scoring the basketball.
The Lakers are trying to win a title in this shrinking window with LeBron James and the fact of the matter is that THT is not helping that cause. Yes, he has potential, but there is also a reason for the Lakers to not overvalue that potential this season.
2. The Los Angeles Lakers may not benefit from Talen Horton-Tucker’s potential anyway
Oftentimes we think about young players and we think about how good they could be in several years. While Talen Horton-Tucker was not very good last season, he is still much better than most second-round picks in the league. Add in the fact that he is still only 21 years old and it is obvious that he has much more room to grow.
The problem with thinking about what THT could be in 4-5 years is the fact that he might not even be a Laker when that potential finally starts to show itself. We have seen this happen before. The Lakers held on to Julius Randle because of his potential, didn’t get anything for him leaving and that potential didn’t blossom until he left the team.
Horton-Tucker only has two more years, at most, under contract with the Lakers. At his age he is most likely going to accept his player option for the 2023-24 season. If we do not expect THT to finally come around until he is 24 or 25 then he is probably going to be off the team.
It is an ironic situation. The Lakers want to keep THT around to capitalize on that potential of him being a valuable role player. However, if he is not already showing that potential before his contract expires then the Lakers are going to move on from him anyway.
So yes, THT does have potential in this league but that potential will probably start shining through somewhere else.
3. The Los Angeles Lakers might be forced to if they are hard-capped
This is a big if but there is a world in which the Los Angeles Lakers can pull off a sign-and-trade for an all-star-caliber player and get rid of Russell Westbrook in this process. This would obviously fit the billing for the Lakers trading THT in a deal for an all-star.
The only way this happens is if Zach LaVine, who has been very favorable to the Lakers and is a Klutch Sports client, forces his way to the Lakers as an unrestricted free agent. The three-team trade we theorized would include the Lakers getting LaVine, the Knicks getting Westbrook and draft picks (and cap space), and the Bulls getting Julius Randle and Evan Fournier. THT could go to either Chicago or New York, it does not matter.
THT could also go to another team as the Lakers could essentially give him away for free to a team with cap space for a second-round pick. Why would the team do this? If they acquired LaVine in a sign and trade then they would be hard-capped at the tax apron of $149 million.
The Lakers would essentially have to get THT off the books and then bring in a group of minimum players (not even being able to use their Taxpayer MLE) to fill out the rest of the roster. If LaVine is going to be a Laker, THT has to leave.
Once again, this is a big if but is certainly is possible if LaVine wants to be a Laker and plays his cards right. And while reports indicate that the Lakers won’t trade draft capital to move Westbrook, they would certainly change their mind if that included getting LaVine in return.