With the Los Angeles Lakers three games below .500 and not playing like a championship-caliber team, trade rumors will mount as the deadline approaches in a few weeks.
One player L.A. is shopping in potential trades is Talen Horton-Tucker, the 21-year-old wing who makes just north of $10 million a year. His contract is the best to match salaries to obtain another talented player, and his inconsistent play could be why the Lakers want to ship him now.
But it will not be easy.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the interest in Horton-Tucker isn’t ideal:
Now that the Lakers are looking to improve their roster ahead of the trade deadline, Horton-Tucker is viewed by other teams as a marginal asset.
The important word here is “asset.” It’s not necessarily about Horton-Tucker’s numbers or potential as a big ball-handling wing; it’s his contract and how a team will not have leverage if trading for him, as Pincus explains in greater detail:
He’s still a developing prospect, but he’s about $7.7 million more expensive this season than his contemporaries. But the bigger issue for the Lakers, above his salary, is the 21-year-old guard’s player option before the 2023-24 season.
This wouldn’t be a concern if the Lakers signed him to a three-year deal. For example, the Nets aren’t looking to move Claxton but have explored the possibility. Unlike Horton-Tucker, Claxton will be a restricted free agent this offseason, giving any acquiring team the leverage to re-sign him.
The same level of team control will not come in a Horton-Tucker trade. He can hit unrestricted free agency in 2023. Away from ball-dominant stars LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, if he blossoms, the leverage will be in the hands of Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, not the acquiring team.
And if a team doesn’t think Horton-Tucker has the goods to deliver, why would it trade for him? That’s why the market may push Pelinka into giving up a first-round pick in addition to Horton-Tucker to make a deal (provided the team can find one that will increase its chances of winning this season).
Trading Horton-Tucker puts the Lakers in a tough spot. Combining him with the 2027 first-round pick, the earliest L.A. can trade, sends two of the franchise’s best trade chips in one deal. It would limit the team even further.
The Lakers’ front office will have to make several important decisions that will have impacts now and down the road.
