What is going on with the Los Angeles Lakers? This has seemed to be the question ever since the 2021-22 NBA season began and while LeBron James is defying the rules of an aging player in the NBA once again, the rest of this roster is really having a hard time figuring out how to play with one another.
The Lakers are just 22-22 to this point in the season and while they will likely make the playoffs because of how weak the Western Conference is this year, there is definitely concern within this organization about how they have played.
LeBron James can only do so much for the Lakers and with Anthony Davis being out since Dec. 17 due to a MCL sprain in his left knee, Los Angeles has had zero consistency on their roster. The “Russell Westbrook experiment” has not worked out for the Lakers and now, they have about three weeks to try and make any “last ditch efforts” to salvage the season at the NBA trade deadline.
GM Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front-office definitely have their work cut out for them not only because they lack trade assets, but because they are well over the luxury tax line on the season. Making any significant trade is going to be very difficult for the Lakers to do over the next few weeks, which is why they are open to any kind of move right now.
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For a while now, Talen Horton-Tucker has been discussed as the potential path to the Lakers making a big trade at the NBA trade deadline this season and on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the team is shopping the 21-year-old in trade talks with teams around the league.
Talen Horton-Tucker is in his third NBA season and while he has shown flashes of what he can bring to the table down the line, the Lakers need production right now.
After signing a three-year, $30.7M deal in the offseason to remain in Los Angeles, Horton-Tucker has not been productive this season.
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Given the nature of his contract and the Lakers being well over the tax line this season, Talen Horton-Tucker’s contract really is the only way that they can potentially make a season-saving move at the NBA trade deadline.
The Los Angeles Lakers desperately need some kind of change to happen quickly roster-wise if they are to truly be a championship threat in the Western Conference, which is why the team could look to leverage Talen Horton-Tucker for one of these three players.
