Talen Horton-Tucker was ‘kind of on an island’ in his time with the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers just traded young talent, Talen Horton-Tucker to the Utah Jazz in exchange for 34-year-old veteran Patrick Beverley. Right now, the former Timberwolves player gives the Lakers a better chance to win, but maybe Talen Horton-Tucker could've been a better choice in the long run. Now, according to Chris Vernon from The Ringer, it turns out that THT was kind of a loner during his time on the Lakers.

Talen Horton-Tucker played 3 seasons for the Lakers. He has averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 131 regular-season games during his time with the Purple and Gold. THT showed some promise as he once scored 40 points against the Warriors, but it wasn't enough to keep him on the team.

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“When I talked to some people connected to Horton-Tucker, he was kind of on an island in the sense of that he’s like the only young guy. He didn’t have buddies to go run around with. This is an old team with a bunch of veteran guys. He didn’t have a bunch of friends,” explained Chris Vernon.

Horton-Tucker had a lot of upside and could've helped on the offensive side of the ball more than Beverley could. Still, the Lakers needed a lot of help on the defensive side of the ball and a player like Beverley, who has a defensive rating of 108.

Are the Lakers going to miss Halen Torton-Tucker?

THT was a player that never played up to his potential. The Lakers saw a lot of upside in him as they chose him over Alex Caruso. However, the Lakers are in a ‘win-now’ mentality, and Beverley helps them more in that, than Talen Horton-Tucker.