Talen Horton-Tucker is a player that is generally regarded highly by Los Angeles Lakers fans. Horton-Tucker is a capable slasher to the rim who also has a lot of promise as a potential ball-handler and defender.
While the Los Angeles Lakers are a mostly veteran team, it was obvious that the Lakers were high on Horton-Tucker’s potential. Talen Horton-Tucker ended up re-signing with the Lakers on a 3-year $32 million extension during the offseason, and it’s possible that he’ll end up improving over the course of that deal.
In a recent article by Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, it was revealed that Rob Pelinka believes “there’s nothing” keeping Talen Horton-Tucker from becoming an “elite player”. While obviously, Horton-Tucker isn’t at that level quite yet, it seems as though Pelinka still views the young prospect very highly.
There’s nothing Talen doesn’t have to keep him from being an elite player.
Rob Pelinka isn’t the only person that has been very high on Talen Horton-Tucker. Former teammate Kyle Kuzma once suggested that Horton-Tucker would play similarly to someone like Anthony Edwards if he was on a team like the Timberwolves. Kuzma’s words make sense, as Talen Horton-Tucker simply hasn’t had huge opportunities on a veteran team that is a contender. If he were on a rebuilding team, he’d likely get more touches as a young player.
There is certainly a lot of competition for minutes on the Los Angeles Lakers. The team has signed a lot of veterans for their title push, as well as some other younger players such as Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn. However, Talen Horton-Tucker is a talented player though, and he’ll certainly be in the rotation.
It remains to be seen if Talen Horton-Tucker will eventually become that high-level player, but it seems as though there is plenty of optimism surrounding him. Hopefully, he is able to deliver on his potential eventually, and Horton-Tucker could potentially help the Los Angeles Lakers as a contributor to their championship chase this season.
