The Los Angeles Lakers battled injuries all throughout the 2020-21 NBA season and as a result, they were unable to defend their championship from 2020. They were eliminated in the first-round by the Phoenix Suns, thus sending the Lakers to the beach earlier than they would have liked.
This is definitely not a bad thing for this team though. With all of the injuries they have suffered throughout the years and the stress of having to go straight from the 2019-20 season into this past season, having an elongated break for once may wind up being the best thing for LeBron James and Co.
However, this offseason is going to be very important for them because they have some big decisions to make regarding some of the talent that has been on their roster over the years. Dennis Schroder, Andre Drummond and Alex Caruso are the three biggest names from their roster this past year that are set to become unrestricted free agents, but Talen Horton-Tucker is also going to be a free agent.
The 20-year-old shooting guard is going to be a restricted free agent this offseason and the Los Angeles Lakers announced on Thursday that they had extended a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer is $1.9M, but it is expected that Horton-Tucker will decline this offer from the Lakers. His name has become one of more intriguing to watch in rumors this NBA offseason.
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This does not mean that he is leaving Los Angeles, but Talen Horton-Tucker is a young player with a lot of potential to grow into a key talent at the shooting guard position, which is why he is going to look to get a raise this offseason. While it is highly unlikely that he receives this kind of offer, one league executive told Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus that he would “max him out” in regards to Horton-Tucker’s next contract.
Could Talen Horton-Tucker actually get a four-year, $83M deal this offseason after averaging just 19.5 minutes per game through his first two seasons in Los Angeles? Let’s take a look at the three most likely teams to pursue the young guard in free agency this year.
