Why This Trade Benefits The Los Angeles Lakers
Getting rid of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso may not seem ideal for the Los Angeles Lakers, but De’Anthony Melton is a guy who can play immediately and opening up minutes on the court for the Lakers gives them a chance to finally play Talen Horton-Tucker, their first-round pick from last year.
Talen Horton-Tucker is definitely a valuable young prospect, especially after his performances this preseason. In four preseason games this year, THT averaged 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shot 54.7% from the floor and 53.8% from three-point range. At just 20-years old, Horton-Tucker is a very intriguing prospect that could help the Lakers in their championship pursuit.
In college, he acted as one of the primary ball-handlers for Iowa State, but in the NBA, he could fill Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s role perfectly, but may not be as strong of a three-point shooter. That is alright though because he would make up for his weaker shooting abilities with his toughness and ability to get to the rim.
The Lakers also have Wesley Matthews on the wing, who is an established veteran talent they signed this offseason. He too can step up and fill the minutes left behind by trading away KCP, which should not be hard to replace.
Losing Alex Caruso would definitely have a small impact on the Lakers, as he gives it his all when he is on the court, but De’Anthony Melton provides more potential as a combo-guard moving forward. The Lakers are one of the older teams in the NBA and do not have much young talent on their roster.
Moving forward, this Lakers team may be set up for championships now, but three to four years down the road, when LeBron James could be ready to retire, the Lakers will need young talent they can look to immediately to keep them near the top of the league. Melton could definitely be one of those guys down the road that they turn to be an impact player for this team, not to mention the young talent they could get in the draft.
Getting two second-round picks is valuable because they could potentially flip those picks for a late first-round pick. If the Lakers want to set themselves up for future success while sustaining their current success, De’Anthony Melton is definitely a player they should take a long look at.
This trade could not be done until the end of February as a result of both Melton and KCP signing their new contracts this offseason, but near the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies could potentially pursue a trade to strengthen their teams in different areas.
