Lakers News: Prior To Patrick Beverley, L.A. Rejected Talen Horton-Tucker Trade That Would Have Landed Them Draft Picks

Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers were at one point in the midst of plotting a trade to offload Talen Horton-Tucker, whom they had just re-signed in the 2021 offseason, in an effort to bring new talent and energy to the team.

The Lakers eventually sent the intriguing young guard to the Utah Jazz, along with forward Stanley Johnson, in exchange for veteran point guard Patrick Beverley. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers reportedly turned down the chance to receive a first-round pick from the Toronto Raptors for him.

Horton-Tucker was the 46th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. When the Lakers initially traded for the draft rights to THT, the franchise did not have much to expect in adding his role. After all, he barely got any playing time during his rookie season.

The 6-foot-4 player eventually got the opportunity to show his potential once former head coach Frank Vogel gave him minutes in the Orlando “bubble" campus in 2020. With flashes of Horton-Tucker bodying his way in the paint and converting layups, fans saw how much of an impact the guard could have on the team once fully polished and developed. 

In the 2020-21 season, Horton-Tucker became a rotational player and averaged 9.0 points and 2.8 assists in 20.1 minutes per game. During this time, his name became thrown around in more trade rumors. One rumor had him, Dennis Schröder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope going to the Toronto Raptors for Kyle Lowry.

Last season, the trade rumors didn't seem to subside, as Horton-Tucker didn’t make any significant improvements.

As a current member of the Jazz, he is averaging 7.9 points a game on 40.2% shooting from the floor.

When looking at the stats from his last two seasons, THT's overall shooting percentage and 3-point shooting accuracy have continued to fall.

Though Horton-Tucker was traded for Beverly in a hope to immediately elevate the team, the Lakers guard has not lived up to expectations.

Beverly has provided the team with a defensive spark at times, but that won’t get the job done. He simply has not delivered on the offensive end, shooting 27.4% overall and 24.4% from three.

With Beverly’s role being impactful on one end of the floor only, it presents a question as to whether or not Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka fumbled the right call. He had the opportunity to, instead, acquire a valuable first-round draft pick with more theoretical upside that would have contributed measurably to the team.