Potential Lakers trade target is far too expensive after new report

The Los Angeles Lakers do not have many avenues to improve the roster this season but that is not going to stop Rob Pelinka from trying. One of the few options that the team does have is trading Talen Horton-Tucker.

Horton-Tucker does not have a lot of trade value but he could still net a valuable veteran player on an expiring contract from the right team. During the trade deadline last season, it seemed like that veteran player could be Houston’s Eric Gordon.

Houston is obviously interested in trading the assets that the team does have as the team just traded Christian Wood for an underwhelming package that was headlined by the 26th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. With Wood’s return being so low, Gordon suddenly seems much more obtainable for the Lakers.

Except he isn’t.

Eric Gordon is far too expensive for the Los Angeles Lakers to trade for.

Just to make the package work, the Los Angeles Lakers would have to trade Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and someone like Mason Jones for salary purposes. While that is a pretty decent return for one year of a veteran, especially considering what the Rockets got for Wood, it would not be enough.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report recently reported that the Rockets’ asking price of a first-round pick for Gordon has not waivered after the Christian Wood trade. Not only would the Lakers have to trade all of that young talent but they would have to attach a 2027 first-round pick as well.

That is far too much for a player that would not even be a great fit on the Los Angeles Lakers. While Gordon is a great three-point shooter (shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc last season), the is an undersized guard who no longer plays good defense.

The Lakers had several shooters who could not defend on last year’s team and it did nothing for them. Would adding Gordon to be the fourth or fifth scoring option to the team really improve the Lakers much? Not at all.

If there were no other takers for THT and the Rockets were willing to make the deal happen without a first-round pick attached then it would be a different story. At that point, it becomes much easier to take yourself into Gordon with how bad THT was on the offensive side of the court last season.

With a first-round pick price tag, it is an instant hang-up for Rob Pelinka. If the team is not willing to trade a first-round pick to dump Russell Westbrook somewhere then they definitely should not be willing to trade a first-round pick to get Eric Gordon.