Nonetheless, their Big 3 takes a massive chunk of their salary cap, meaning there’s only so much they can do with the scraps they have left. Also, the front office has been reluctant to give picks away to improve the roster, only making things more complicated.

But still, Rob Pelinka could work his magic and land the sharpshooter they’ve craved for a couple of seasons now. According to Marc Stein, he’s trying to get Buddy Hield in a package centered around Talen Horton-Tucker.

NBA Rumors: Lakers Trying To Swap Talen Horton-Tucker For Buddy Hield

“Indiana would be expected to buy Westbrook out if such a trade came to fruition,which is another likely obstacle because buying out such a big salary is hardly the norm for Pacers owner Herb Simo,” Stein added. “It is likewise believed that the teams have discussed a deal focused on Hield, without Turner involved, that would still require the Lakers to furnish draft compensation to Indiana’s liking as part of a package centered around Talen Horton-Tucker.”

Lakers Could’ve Had Buddy Hield And Myles Turner

Even so, one can only wonder how serious they really are about getting Hield. He was close to arriving in Los Angeles before they traded for Westbrook. Then, the Lakers turned down an offer that would’ve landed him and Myles Turner while offloading Westbrook’s contract:

“The Lakers had engaged with the Indiana Pacers regarding a trade for young big man Myles Turner and scorer Buddy Hield,” wrote DJ Siddiqi of Forbes. “However, those talks are now dead, due to general manager Rob Pelinka’s refusal to include a second first-round pick (2027 and 2029).”

Maybe it’s time someone tells Pelinka that he can’t have it all. He’ll have to compromise at some point, or he’ll be stuck with this subpar roster and waste another year of LeBron James’ career.

Such a poor season inevitably raises a lot of concern and we already started to see its consequences. Frank Vogel was fired and, if were for the front office, manyplayers should follow in his footsteps as well. The problem is, the Lakers are not in a strong spot for potential trades.

The future of Russell Westbrook, for instance, is completely uncertain. While the logical thing would be for them to part ways and move on, his contract doesn’t make it that simple. However, the Lakers may have another option in mind to get something in return this summer.

Lakers Rumors: 2 players who could be traded apart from Westbrook

Although the outlook is not encouraging ahead of the offseason, the Lakers could prepare a package of two young players and draft picks hoping to rebuild their roster for next year.

According to NBA insiderMichael Scotto ofHoopsHype, the Lakers could includeTalen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn ina trade packagealong with first-round picks this offseason. “When you look at their roster outside of LeBron and Davis, that’s the only way for them to try to improve the team,” Scotto wrote.

Yossi Gozlan, however, claimed that the Lakers wouldfirst prefer to trade Westbrookwithout including draft picks and get role players in return, and then package Horton-Tucker and Nunn in another deal.

It may not be the ideal scenario for the Lakers, but it’s the best they can think of without moving on James or Davis. While Nunn missed the entire season after signing a two-year, $10 million contract in LA, Horton-Tucker showed glimpses of his talent in what has been a tough season for everyone in the roster. Both are still young, so maybe they can bring something in return.

Horton-Tucker seemed poised for a breakout year with the purple and gold. He had shown glimpses of a smooth offensive game and ability to score nearly at will, yet he’s failed to be a consistent contributor.

The Lakers even tried to move him ahead of the deadline but the league-wide interest in him wasn’t as high as it was the prior campaign. Apparently, the word around the league is that he’s just a ‘bad contract’ now.

NBA Rumors: NBA Executives Aren’t Impressed By Talen Horton-Tucker

“League insiders have indicated that Talen Horton-Tucker and perhaps the team’s 2027 first-round pick are on the table at the deadline,” reported Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “But my sources tell me the appetite for Horton-Tucker is low, with one experienced league source even calling the 21-year-old a player with a ‘bad contract.'”

“The Lakers owe THT $10.3 million next season before he has a player option for $11 million in 2023-24,” Woike added.“Attempts to try and use their assets to jar someone like Jerami Grant loose from Detroit can’t work, meaning the Lakers’ need for two-way players has to be met with lesser talent.”

Some Think He Could Still Break Out, But His Contract Situation Doesn’t Help

THT is still quite young and could turn out to be a solid player. Then again, his contract situation puts teams trying to trade for him in a bad position, as he could simply choose to leave in free agency:

“Compounding matters, Horton-Tucker’s deal includes a player option for 2023-24. The Lakers passed on the opportunity to trade him (with Caldwell-Pope and Dennis Schroder) before the 2020 deadline to the Toronto Raptors for Kyle Lowry. The market wasn’t as generous in February,” reported Eric Pinus of Bleacher Report.

“He may be great in four or five years, but he’s not right now,” a Western Conference executive said. “If we trade for him and he blows up, he’ll just opt out and hit free agency in 2023. We’d have no control over his contract.”

Throughout the season, Horton-Tucker has averaged 9.3 points to go along with 3.2 boards and 2.6 assists per game. And while he might still be good somewhere in the future, he’s just not worth the risk right now.

You never know what version of the Lakers you’re going to get. They can either pull off a massive dud against a lesser team or take the competition up a notch as they did against the Utah Jazz.

That’s not going to get the job done in the Western Conference, which is why most insiders expect them to be quite aggressive ahead of the trade deadline. The only problem is they don’t have many – or any – valuable trade assets.

NBA Rumors: Lakers Want ToTrade Talen Horton-Tucker

So, according to Dan Woke of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers may have finally accepted the fact that they need to part ways with Talen Horton-Tucker. While inconsistent on a limited role, he’s the only young player on their roster actually valued by other teams:

“According to people with knowledge of the situation, the team is shopping 21-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker in trade discussions,” Woke reported. “Rival general managers believe the Lakers value Horton-Tucker, but they lack the mid-range contracts needed to put together a deal to upgrade their roster and understand no significant trade is getting made without him.”

Jerami Grant May Not Want To Play For The Lakers

The Lakers were reportedly quite interested in trading for Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant. Nonetheless, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report recently stated that Grant may not want to be the fourth scoring option behind LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook:

“For any team to sign off on a trade for Grant, they’ll need assurances of his plans to re-sign this offseason, just like Gordon did in Denver,” Fischer wrote. “Grant also has little interest in joining a new situation where he doesn’t feature as a primary offensive option, sources said.”

In reality, there’s only so much the Lakers can do in the deadline, and chances are they’ll find more success in the buyout market. Kendrick Nunn has yet to play this season due to injury and neither of their veterans will gauge a lot of trade interest either.

The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, and even the Los Angeles Lakers were reportedly interested in the former NBA champion. However, none of them wanted to meet the Raptors’ steep asking price.

And, even though he was reportedly pretty close to joining the Lakers, the team’s reluctance to include young guard Talen Horton-Tucker in any trade package for him was a deal-breaker for Toronto.

The Lakers Didn’t Want To Give Up Talen Horton-Tucker For Kyle Lowry

“In talking to now three NBA front-office executives, all of them said a resounding ‘No’about the Lakers including THT in any potential trade for Kyle Lowry. THT is liked that much by scouts. And the Lakers love his potential and upside. Yes, the Raptors would want a young talent like Horton-Tucker and yes the Lakers are hesitant,” beat writer Broderick Turner of LA Times reported.

Masai Ujiri Says The Raptors Valued Lowry Too Much

Toronto Raptors’ President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri admitted that he was surprised by the fact that no team was willing to meet their asking price for such an experienced and impactful player like Lowry:

“To be honest, I viewed him as somebody that could go and put a stamp on what you’re trying to do this year. I know if he went to those places, I know what (that could’ve done), I’ve lived it, I’ve seen it.We’re going to be biassed, you always are with your players, but for Kyle, we’re extremely, extremely biassed because of what he does and what he stands for… If I valued him too much, hey, that’s what I believe in,” Ujiri said.

Masai also said that they wanted to put him in a situation to succeed, which limited the number of teams they could trade him to. Then again, it’s hard to think that any contending team would overpay for half-a-season rental on a 35-year-old player.

But, in the case they wanted to continue competing, it’s obvious that they have to put more weight on the shoulders of some of their youngins, as someone needs to make up for James and Davis’ production.

And, while most people would expect Kyle Kuzma to benefit the most from their stars’ absence, it seems like coach Frank Vogel is actually looking forward to unleashing young scorer Talen Horton-Tucker.

Frank Vogel Expects Talen Horton-Tucker To Step Up Without LeBron James

“It’s a great growth opportunity … I like his aggressiveness, and he’s really going to grow during this stretch,” Vogel told Mike Trudell when asked about Talen Horton-Tucker and his 16 field goal attempts vs. the Atlanta Hawks.

Talen Horton-Tucker had already shown glimpses of his scoring versatility before the start of the season and some people urged for him to crack the rotation. However, he wasn’t getting enough playing time or shots early on.

Now, the 20-year-old sophomore will have the perfect opportunity to showcase his skillset with the team’s two best players on the shelf. He’s shown the ability to score from all three levels and could break out once and for all.

While his season averages are not impressive, his numbers per 36 mins are quite interesting: 15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.9 three-pointers on 44.9% from the floor.

It’s clear that a young player like Horton-Tucker can’t single-handedly carry the load for a championship contender but this could be a blessing in disguise for them to develop another star in the making.

One of LeBron’s most controversial stories is centered around former teammate Delonte West and his mother, Gloria James. According to some rumors, West and Gloria were together when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which obviously led to countless jokes at LeBron’s expense.

Whether that rumor is true or not is not for us to debate. What’s undeniable is that the word spread around social media in the blink of an eye, and some of the young players that are currently taking the league by assault had a thing to say or two about this matter.

That includes Los Angeles Lakers’ sophomore guard Talen Horton-Tucker, who was playing his way into Frank Vogel’s rotation in the preseason before an old tweet from 2015 about LeBron and West resurfaced.

Talen Horton-Tucker Mocked LeBron James On Twitter Years Before Becoming Teammates

Apparently, a then-15-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker was one of those who bought the story of West hooking up with James’ mom, as he took to Twitter to voice his thoughts and make fun of the guy he’d be teammates with 4 years later.

“Doc Rivers and Austin are the first father and son being in the same team since Delonte West and LeBron James,” Horton-Tucker tweeted, as resurfaced by some internet trolls and reported byClutchPoints.

Horton-Tucker has gotten a lot of attention lately thanks to some stellar play in the preseason and this situation isn’t likely to hurt his playing time at all. In fact, Kyle Kuzma posted a similar tweet when he was a teenager and it looks like he now gets along pretty well with The King. Then again, it would be interesting to see how he handles this.