Sooner or later, the Los Angeles Lakers will need to face the music. They just aren't a very good team and the odds of them winning the title this season have been reduced to slim to none. They might be able to book their place in the playoffs via the Play-In game, but it's now looking likely that this team will be on vacation once the month of May kicks in.
It's going to be a very interesting summer for the Lakers. Naturally, the front office will want to make the necessary moves to surround LeBron James with as much talent as they can as they look ahead to the 2022-23 season. At the moment, the players they have around The King don't look like they're the ones who can help LeBron win his fifth NBA championship.
The Lakers will be entering trade talks this offseason and the name that's likely to pop up in most conversations will be Talen Horton-Tucker. The 21-year-old was already heavily linked to a move away from Hollywood towards the February trade deadline but for reasons unknown, the Lakers front office decided against pulling the trigger on any major move.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, THT's trade market value isn't looking very good right now. An anonymous Western Conference executive went on the record to explain why his team, in particular, just isn't interested in trading for Horton-Tucker at the moment:
“He may be great in four or five years, but he's not right now,” said the unnamed exec, via Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. “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.”
This sounds like a no-win situation for any team that might be considering a deal for the 6-foot-4 shooting guard. Horton-Tucker is set to earn $10.3 million next season, which won't exactly entail a major cap hit for most teams. However, the big issue here is that he has a Player Option for the 2023-24 season. This means that if he so chooses, he could opt out of that final season and walk away as a free agent in the summer of 2023.
This only means that if he plays well next season, then he could raise his market value. Opposing teams might be willing to pay him more than the $11 million he's guaranteed to earn if he opts into his Player Option. It's then very much possible that he leaves his team for nothing. If he doesn't play well, however, or even if he doesn't take a significant leap from his current level, then he likely won't have many suitors if he hits free agency. THT will likely opt into the final season of his deal, which could then feel a bit pricey for a player that does not offer much upside.
It is also worth noting that outside of their future draft picks, Horton-Tucker is considered one of the Lakers' most marketable trade assets at the moment. They're likely not getting out of Russell Westbrook's gargantuan deal and a buyout for the former league MVP sounds unlikely. As such, any trade scenario will likely include THT. The bad news for LA is that one of their best assets isn't even attracting much attention right now. It's going to be a tough next few months for the Lakers.
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