Rumors hint Raptors discussed multiple Talen Horton-Tucker trades

The Toronto Raptors had a relatively tranquil trade deadline after the dust settled, as the only move they made was flipping Goran Dragic to the Spurs to acquire Thad Young. In sharp contrast, the Los Angeles Lakers were extremely frantic, as they were doing everything possible to unload former second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker.

While the former Iowa State guard is having a down season this year, LA was banking on the 21-year-old guard with a 7-1 wingspan having plenty of value for teams looking to add length. No team in the league may be more obsessed with length than Toronto, and it almost helped a trade come to fruition.

Speaking on the Real Ones NBA Podcast with Logan Murdock and Raja Bell, Charania confirmed that Toronto was interested in Horton-Tucker. According to Charania, the proposed deal would’ve sent Alec Burks and Cam Reddish to LA, Dragic to the New York Knicks, and both Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel to Toronto.

Charania also confirmed that Toronto was discussing a deal in which Horton-Tucker would’ve been traded to the Raptors in exchange for a future first-round pick. Ultimately, both the Knicks and Raptors had issues with the frameworks of these deals, which contributed to them falling apart.

https://twitter.com/loganmmurdock/status/1493352441856737280

The Toronto Raptors looked into Talen Horton-Tucker.

Horton-Tucker is averaging 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game despite having just turned 21 and playing on a star-studded, veteran-laden Lakers team. Those stats look promising, but making 41% of your shots and 28% of your 3-point attempts might not get Raptors fans interested in a trade.

The Lakers gave Horton-Tucker a three-year, $30 million contract last offseason, meaning that any team that takes him on will be paying eight figures for a bench shooting guard that has had some shooting issues this season. Giving up a draft pick for THT might not be very appealing.

However, Toronto has shown that they will throw their hat into the ring for anyone that is young and long. With his 7-1 wingspan making him a very versatile defender and Nick Nurse likely confident in his ability to make him a more consistent scorer, Horton-Tucker coming to Toronto can’t completely be ruled out this offseason.

Horton-Tucker’s value might be as low as possible right now, as the lack of amazing growth is being highlighted as one of the many disappointing factors in this Lakers season. While Toronto’s should make it a point to go after Horton-Tucker this offseason they should keep an ear to the ground just in case Rob Pelinka wants to overpay.