There was a time when it looked like the Los Angeles Lakers considered Talen Horton-Tucker to be a major part of the team’s future.
He has only played with the team for a few seasons but he became a fan favorite and also showed a real presence on the floor.
He experienced several bumps in the road, especially in the last season, but the young man has a lot of promise.
Now he will show that promise on another team because he just got traded to the Utah Jazz in a deal that brought Patrick Beverley to the Lakers.
Reminder that the Lakers refused to include THT in a trade for Kyle Lowry. pic.twitter.com/IRfMw4OOaA
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 25, 2022
It’s a bit surprising to see Horton-Tucker head to Utah because it wasn’t long ago that the Lakers refused to include him in a trade for Kyle Lowry.
This has people scratching their heads because most agree that Lowry is a better, more reliable, and more accomplished player than Beverley.
So why did the Lakers keep Horton-Tucker when Lowry was on the table but sent him away for a chance at Beverley?
Surely, LA has a plan, right?
LA Looks Ahead
The Lakers need to make a lot of adjustments to the team if they wish to make last season a distant memory and truly move forward.
They think that Beverley is a part of that.
With his experience and skill, the team believes that Beverley can help them win in the immediate future and that was very attractive to them.
The fact that the trade also gave them more money for the 2023-24 season was also surely enticing for LA’s front office.
To some fans, this trade doesn’t make a lot of sense and it’ll anger many.
But it might be the best way to win in the upcoming season.
NEXT: NBA Analyst Breaks Down The Patrick Beverley Deal