Tag: Talen Horton-Tucker

Rockets reportedly interested in signing ‘two-way veteran’ in free agency

Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Eric Gordon could be names to watch as the Rockets pursue a “two-way veteran” in free agency, Kelly Iko reports.

Guards and wings such as Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker, Saddiq Bey, and Eric Gordon are names to watch as the Rockets pursue two-way veteran players in free agency, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reports.

Houston has several spending tools available to use in the 2024 offseason, including the non-taxpayer mid-level exception — which offers a starting salary of approximately $13 million annually.

Head coach Ime Udoka previously identified shooting and defensive versatility as among the team’s needs this offseason. But according to Iko, it’s important that both of those come in the same package, so that Houston isn’t sacrificing one for the sake of the other.

Iko writes:

Shooting is seen as paramount but simply adding sharpshooters who can’t defend is not ideal. So, a player like Doug McDermott wouldn’t be a fit with Udoka.

Two-way veterans like Alec Burks, Gary Harris, Talen Horton-Tucker and Saddiq Bey (among others) are of interest, but Bey’s restricted free agency makes things difficult. Free agent Eric Gordon is “50-50” on a return to Phoenix, according to a source close to the veteran guard, but is also interested in a Rockets reunion.

From the 2023-24 season, key statistics for those players are:

  • Alec Burks (Pistons, Knicks): 10.4 points in 18.4 minutes; 37.6% on 3-pointers
  • Talen Horton-Tucker (Jazz): 10.1 points, 3.5 assists in 19.8 minutes; 33.0% on 3-pointers
  • Saddiq Bey (Hawks): 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds in 32.7 minutes; 31.6% on 3-pointers
  • Eric Gordon (Suns): 11.0 points, 2.0 assists in 27.8 minutes; 37.8% on 3-pointers

2024 NBA free agency agreements can be reached between teams and external players starting on the night of Sunday, June 30.

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Mock trade sees Spurs land 23-year-old wing for veteran

In this mock trade, the San Antonio Spurs would strike a deal for Utah Jazz wing Talen Horton-Tucker.

The San Antonio Spurs probably won’t make any moves at the trade deadline. Head coach Gregg Popovich said as much when asked whether or not they’d be active, mocking the fact that the Spurs have underperformed this year. But while it looks like San Antonio won’t be pushing their chips onto the table, they could still look to restructure the roster.

Trading away veterans for young talent, especially at the point guard position, could be a smart move, especially with Victor Wembanyama at the helm. Adding young talent around the rookie phenom could help the Spurs moving forward as they look to develop their guys.

Jared Koch of Inside the Jazz suggested a deal that would see the Spurs land Talen Horton-Tucker from the Utah Jazz.

Report: Rockets have explored trades for Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker, Malcolm Brogdon

The #Rockets have explored trades for Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Malcolm Brogdon in recent weeks, Yahoo’s Jake Fischer reports.

For weeks, the Houston Rockets had wanted to move on from Kevin Porter Jr. in the wake of his September arrest in New York for an alleged assault and strangulation against his girlfriend.

On Tuesday, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone was able to get it done by including two second-round draft picks as part of a package landing Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl from Oklahoma City. The Thunder will immediately waive Porter.

Oladipo, however, is not ready to play basketball after suffering a torn patellar tendon during the 2023 NBA playoffs last April.

So while Oladipo’s expiring $9.5-million contract could replace most of Porter’s salary slot in future trades, the ideal scenario would be to have that salary slot filled by a player who could also help the Rockets win more games in the short-term. After all, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, “the Rockets expect to compete for the play-in tournament this spring (in the 2023-24 season).”

While Oladipo can’t be traded in combination with other players until 60 days after his acquisition by the Rockets, he could be traded immediately, if he’s the only outgoing player in the deal.

So, what might make sense for Stone and the Rockets in a deal involving Oladipo and future draft compensation? In his latest article, Fischer outlined three possibilities of at least some interest. All three are guards who play a somewhat similar role to Oladipo and the one Porter was expected to play prior to his September arrest.

Austin Reaves free agency: His stock and potential destinations

With the regular season nearly complete, we have seen enough from each player to evaluate them and their upcoming free-agency situation. We decided to look at some of the best upcoming free agents and check their stock, see what their next contract …

With the regular season nearly complete, we have seen enough from each player to evaluate them and their upcoming free-agency situation. We decided to look at some of the best upcoming free agents and check their stock, see what their next contract could look like, and weigh their odds of re-signing with their current team.

Below we evaluate one of the most exciting upcoming free agents, Austin Reaves.

The NBA just added an extremely weird feature to its app and everyone rightfully turned it into a meme

Why is this a thing?????

You won’t find a more connected sports league out there than the NBA. I mean, think about it. They do everything possible to put their games in your face, right?

They just slashed the price of League Pass this year — thankfully. The league’s highlights are also always widely available on social media platforms, so anybody can check out the action from the previous night at any time.

I’m thankful for all of that. Truly, I am. It’s been this way for a while and it’s helped me and so many others become more passionate fans of the game.

But you know what I didn’t ask for? This new feature the league is adding to their NBA app.

Apparently, you can scan yourself and literally put yourself in the game. Honestly, describing it doesn’t do it justice. You have to see it for yourself

Y’all. Adam Silver really just dropped Ahmad Rashad into Talen Horton-Tucker’s body. That’s a real sentence I just typed.

Uh, this is cool, I guess, if you’re into this sort of thing. You basically create your avatar and you copy and paste it onto someone else’s body. So if you ever wanted to watch yourself dunk, I guess this is your time?  This is going to work really well for the 10-year-olds out there who really just want to be LeBron James for a night.

Hate to tell you this, NBA, but no one asked for this. If I wanted to dunk the ball with Talen Horton-Tucker, I’d just play NBA 2k. I’m sorry.

Everybody on the internet made this into a meme. And rightfully so. Again — nobody asked for this. Not a soul. So what else is there to do with it? Exactly.

Lakers could’ve traded Talen Horton-Tucker for first-round draft pick

The Lakers could’ve used Talen Horton-Tucker to boost their trade capital last season.

Many Los Angeles Lakers fans have been frustrated with general manager Rob Pelinka for not making prudent personnel moves over the past couple of years.

Dating to the 2020-21 season, guard Talen Horton-Tucker was brought up in multiple trade rumors. He was thought to have some trade value as a young player on the rise, but Pelinka held onto him until late in the summer when he sent him to the Utah Jazz for Patrick Beverley.

According to Dave McMenamin, the Lakers had an opportunity to receive a first-round draft pick from the Toronto Raptors last season for Horton-Tucker, but they said no.

“I’m told that the Lakers had talks with the Toronto Raptors where the Raptors late last year when it already looked like the Lakers were probably out of it or, at the very least, going to be a low seed and wouldn’t have a likely championship path to go all the way, the Raptors would have traded for Talen Horton-Tucker. Traded a first-round pick. So, think about that, the Lakers had another first-round pick on top of the two firsts right now to play with to try to make this team better…Now, of course, I’m told the trade would have also involved Khem Birch so they would have taken some money there and maybe Birch wouldn’t be the best rotation guy for this group but that first round pick is so valuable and it’s why they’re so hamstrung with what they can pursue right now.”

Beverley so far hasn’t been getting it done offensively, although his defense and leadership have helped at times. He has made just 27.4% of his shots from the field and 24.4% of his 3-point attempts this season.

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Pacers wanted Talen Horton-Tucker in Russell Westbrook trade

The Indiana Pacers wanted the Lakers to include another important trade asset in a potential trade for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.

If the Los Angeles Lakers are to trade Russell Westbrook before the start of training camp, there seems to be a good chance the Indiana Pacers will be involved.

For the last several weeks, there have been rumors the two teams have been talking about swapping Westbrook and draft compensation for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.

Apparently, the Pacers wanted to expand the trade, but the Lakers said no for a familiar reason.

Via Hoops Hype:

“It seems like the best trade the Lakers can make if they want to move Russell Westbrook and try to win this season is with Indiana for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield,” wrote Michael Scotto. “One note that’s interesting is before the Lakers traded Talen Horton-Tucker to Utah in the Patrick Beverley trade, the Pacers were trying to get Horton-Tucker, I’m told. Essentially, Indiana was hoping to get Westbrook’s expiring contract, the Lakers’ two first-round picks in 2027 and 2029, along with Horton-Tucker for Turner, Hield and they wanted to make LA take Daniel Theis, who has some years looking ahead on his contract. Theis is more of a fit on a playoff-caliber team as we saw with the Celtics previously. The Lakers weren’t trying to essentially part with THT for Theis in that expanded trade package discussion after already having reservations about moving two first-round picks to get off Westbrook’s contract. In talking with people around the league, anybody that’s taking on Westbrook wants both of those first-round picks.”

Daniel Theis would’ve been an interesting addition to the Lakers. He can play both the 4 and 5, is a good rebounder and can occasionally block shots.

However, he would’ve made the team very crowded at the 5. Such a deal would’ve had left him, Turner, Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones there, not to mention Anthony Davis when he slides over to that position.

Plus, Horton-Tucker would’ve been gone and unable to be used in a separate trade.

As it turned out, he was sent to the Utah Jazz along with Stanley Johnson for Patrick Beverley, who is the type of role player the Lakers sorely need.

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Lakers now have cap space next season for a max contract, like Kyrie Irving, after trading Talen Horton-Tucker

The Lakers now enough have space to sign … Kyrie Irving.

After trading Talen Horton-Tucker to the Jazz to land Patrick Beverley, the Lakers have significantly improved their defense and shooting.

Although the trade sacrificed youth by moving off Horton-Tucker, who is just 21 years old, there is a lot to like about the deal for Los Angeles. While this is a move that could likely help them win more games next season, it also gives their front office more flexibility for the future.

Based on the contracts currently on their roster, this move makes them well-positioned for the next off-season in 2023.

Here is why that matters, and what it means for the future of the organization:

What’s next for the Lakers after trading for Patrick Beverley?

HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan on what’s next for the Lakers and Jazz after Patrick Beverley is traded for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson

The Lakers are set to acquire Patrick Beverley from the Jazz in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Both teams have long been anticipated to make big trades this summer. For now, both teams make a smaller deal. Perhaps we are closer to them realizing trades for their respective All-Stars in Russell Westbrook and Donovan Mitchell.

Below is a look at the at the trade between the Lakers and Jazz means for both franchises.

Breaking: Lakers to acquire veteran guard Patrick Beverley

The Lakers have reportedly swung a trade to land veteran 3-and-D guard Patrick Beverley from the Utah Jazz.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been in great need of reinforcements after going through what has been widely considered their worst season ever.

L.A. was expected to contend for the NBA championship after trading for Russell Westbrook last summer. Instead, it plunged to a 33-49 record and the indignity of missing the play-in tournament.

As the season went on, it seemed team morale only grew worse and worse, especially amid reports of discontent between Westbrook and the rest of the team.

But now, the Lakers are taking a step in the right direction by acquiring Patrick Beverley from the Utah Jazz for Talen Horton-Tucker.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported the trade also has forward Stanley Johnson going to Utah.

It may not be a big step in the right direction, but it is a step nonetheless.

Beverley, 34, will help fortify what was a weak perimeter defense for the Lakers last season. He has also been a strong 3-point shooter throughout his 10-year pro career.

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Perimeter defense and 3-point shooting have been arguably the team’s two biggest weaknesses.

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