Proposed Trade Gives Lakers $51 Million Star for Kendrick Nunn & Talen Horton-Tucker

The Los Angeles Lakers have to do a lot of work in the offseason. Rob Pelinka has to pick the best players for his current roster. He has LeBron James leading the team and Anthony Davis won’t go anywhere in the near future. Pelinka has a few struggling players on the roster and they will probably leave the team this offseason. Russell Westbrook is one of these guys. The same goes to Talen Horton-Tucker. The young player showed great potential but his inconsistency is just too much. A new trade deal may help the Lakers get a multi million star.

Several analysts advise the Lakers to trade Kendrick Nunn, THT, and the 2027 first-rounder. On June 22, Grant Hughes from Bleacher Report said that the Lakers should trade Nunn, Horton-Tucker, and the first-rounder to get Gary Trent Jr. from the Toronto Raptors.

“The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t get anything at the 2022 trade deadline by dangling the above package, but maybe they’ll have better luck on draft night,” Hughes wrote. “These three assets—Nunn, Horton-Tucker and that distant first-rounder—make up the franchise’s only realistically moveable pieces, and you’re not alone if you think the two players involved stretch the normal definition of the word ‘assets’ a little too far.

“That 2027 first-rounder, though? That could have serious value given Los Angeles’ bleak outlook in a post-LeBron James world. It’s the kind of lottery ticket that could convince the Toronto Raptors to part with a starting-caliber guard like Trent, who’d immediately become the Lakers’ best high-volume three-point shooter and backcourt defender.”

A big trade proposal may push the Lakers towards a multi million move that would give them a top star

In 2021-22, Trent saw action in 70 games for the Raptors. He averaged 18.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 41.4% from the floor, 38.3% from 3-point range, and 85.3% from the charity stripe. According to Hughes, the 23-year-old will be of great help for the Lakers in the upcoming season.

“From the Lakers’ side, this is all about adding talent in the short term,” Hughes wrote. “Trent, who averaged 18.3 points per game as a full-time starter in 2021-22, would be a major upgrade over both outgoing Lakers and is exactly the type of three-and-D support piece that has always worked well alongside James.”

Let’s see how this goes… Lakers fans were disappointed by Horton-Tucker’s inconsistency. Nunn didn’t play at all. Now may be the perfect time to get rid of these two.