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The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly open to trading one of their young players.
Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that the Lakers are shopping 21-year-old swingman Talen Horton-Tucker in trade discussions. They noted that Los Angeles doesn’t have many other assets to try to upgrade its roster.
“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,” Woike and Turner stated.
In 28 games with 15 starts, Horton-Tucker is averaging a career-high 10.6 points. His shooting numbers have dropped, however, as he is posting career worsts of 40.9 percent from the field and 24.4 percent from three-point range.
Horton-Tucker missed time earlier this season after undergoing thumb surgery. Since his return, he’s been a regular part of the Lakers rotation with an average of 27.4 minutes per game.
Los Angeles is 22-22 and is coming off a comeback victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday, arguably the team’s most impressive win of the season. The Lakers have struggled to find consistency this year because of a poorly constructed roster.
Star forward LeBron James has been outstanding with 28.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists, but he hasn’t gotten enough help. Point guard Russell Westbrook, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Washington Wizards, is averaging 18.6 points while shooting 43.6 percent from the floor and 28.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lakers have also been dealing with the absence of star big man Anthony Davis, who hasn’t played since Dec. 17 because of a sprained MCL.
