Houston Rockets Receive: G Talen Horton-Tucker, G Kendrick Nunn
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G/F Eric Gordon, HOU 2024 2nd Round Pick, HOU 2026 2nd Round Pick
No matter what kind of move the Lakers make at the trade deadline, they are going to be a tax-paying team this season.
Unless they are somehow able to unload Russell Westbrook and not take back massive contracts, which is borderline impossible, they are going to be paying a lot of money in luxury taxes as an organization.
Between paying a ton of taxes and having both LeBron James and Anthony Davis on their roster, the Lakers are looking to contend for a championship and any season in which they do not make the NBA Finals is viewed as a disappointment right now.
As of right now, this team does not look like they can even win in a seven game playoff series, which is why they need to be willing to spend more money to make things right and fix their mistakes made in the offseason.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Targets For Lakers Using Talen Horton-Tucker In Trade Package
Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn are two relatively young players that could absolutely have an impact on the Lakers’ roster moving forward, but not enough to fix their current problems or make them a real title threat.
Eric Gordon is not going to come in and fix all the problems this team has either, but he is a steady two-way threat on the wing that has been on numerous playoff contending and championship contending teams in Houston.
One of Los Angeles’ biggest problems right now is that they have no reliable scorers or shooters next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which is why Gordon could have a huge impact on this team.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Targets For Lakers Using Talen Horton-Tucker In Trade Package
With Houston rebuilding, they should be more than willing to talk about deals pertaining to them moving veteran talents for young talents and/or draft picks. In this trade with the Lakers, they get two intriguing young players in Kendrick Nunn and Talen Horton-Tucker that could fill holes in their second-unit.
While they would be taking on an extra $3.7M in salary expenses this season with the addition of Eric Gordon, resulting in a lot more tax money having to be paid, this could very well be a necessary move that the Lakers need to make.
