On January 19, Beijing time, according to the US media Bleacher Report, the Lakers are peddling Taryn Horton-Tucker, trying to send him away before the trading deadline. Tucker Jr. hasn't gotten to the next level this season as expected, but he's still young and still has some value in the eyes of other teams. In order to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Lakers, Tucker Jr. is a more valuable chip that can be taken out at present.
Previously, the Los Angeles Times has broken the news that the general manager of the opposing team believes that the Lakers value Tucker, but they lack a mid-range contract to make a deal to complete the lineup upgrade. The Lakers also understand that without the use of Tucker Jr., the Lakers will not be able to make any major deals.
Tucker Jr. has played in 28 games this season, started 15 times, and averaged 10.6 points per game, but shot a career-worst 40.9 percent and a bad three-point shooting percentage of 24.4 percent.
The Lakers gave Tucker a three-year, $31 million contract to keep him, making the youngster the team's fourth-highest-paid player. The Lakers had to let Go of Caruso because they had spent their salary on Tucker. Caruso signed a four-year, $37 million contract with the Bulls. In terms of annual salary in a single season, Caruso is cheaper than Tucker.
Caruso averaged 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.04 steals per game for the Bulls this season, shooting 35.9 percent from three-point range. Caruso's scoring is not as good as Tucker's, but the offense is more efficient, and his role on the defensive end is unmatched by Tucker. Caruso can do a lot of dirty and tiring work, and has been an important player on the Lakers' defensive end in the past few seasons.
Bill Simmons listed the Lakers' multiple failures on Jan. 19, one of which was that the Lakers chose to keep Tucker and abandon Caruso. Caruso originally informed the Lakers after receiving the Bulls' offer contract, and gave the Lakers the opportunity to match the contract, he wanted to stay in the Lakers, provided that the Lakers gave a similar contract, after all, Caruso's career has not made much money. However, the Lakers abandoned Caruso.
Obviously, Tucker Jr. has not performed as well as Caruso this season. At least in the two or three years that Zhan Huang wanted to rush the crown, the Lakers should have left Caruso.
However, things are irretrievable, and the Lakers now hope to exchange Tucker Jr. for good players. On January 18, it was revealed by the US media that Rockets Gordon and Magic Team Terrance Rose may be two targets for the Lakers.
Both players are very good bench scorers, especially Gordon, who has won the best sixth man, once won the All-Star three-point king, and helped the Rockets reach the Western Conference Finals. Gordon is also in good health this season, and if the Lakers can exchange Little Tucker for Gordon, it can indeed greatly improve their strength. Gordon has the habit of playing a small lineup, can also play no-ball offense, has a hand of accurate three-pointers, very suitable for the Lakers' system.