Talen Horton-Tucker Discussion: Growing Pains

I'm excited to see what this guy can offer. There's minutes to be had in search for a 2/3 wing defender

 

He looks like he was in a lot better shape then these outtakes in the bubble. Dude has got lots of potential surprised he dropped into the second round

 

I keep seeing reference to 2 and 3, but I thought his main position was at Point Guard? Am I off?

 

I mean more than normal.

 

Good stuff. He's still young, though. I do hope he can contribute immediately.

That would be a huge development.

 

You always hated the kids.

 

Lakers seem to really like THT's development. What are the expectations for the guy? Lakers are 10 players deep. I'm expecting 10-15 minutes for THT.

 

They refused to include him in any trade talks. Good. Kid got minutes in the playoffs, and looked confident (though a little shaky). Every new Laker comments immediately about how he dominates practices.

I think he gets 10 mins per as 11th man when all are playing. But when Bron is out, or Kief or Ad (moving Kuz), or Kuz or Wes sit - he will see 15-20. We should be limiting Bron’s and Wes’s minutes and of course there will be ankle and other (hopefully minor) injuries. So lots of time for him, I think.

Again, I see a lot of smaller-version Draymond in him - defends, uses a wing span, can bring the ball up, guards many positions and can play make. Sees the floor. Cerebral.

 

Honestly I would be surprised if he got that much time on average. Rooting for him, but he would have to have made some serious progress to earn this much playing time behind KCP, Schröder, Caruso and Matthews.

I will be happy if he has severall games throughout the season where he shows he can already be a rotational player, doesn't make stupid mistakes and does a little of the fancy stuff (preferably dunking on some dudes).

 

I didn't even realize they had the same last name until I typed it up but he reminds me a lot of PJ. Tucker. Short, bulky, and can cover multiple positions.

 

eh, injuries happen. he'll get an opportunity here and there.

game's a lot different, though. he's a much stronger ballhandler and shooter than tucker was a the same stage. moves a little better, too. people forget pj was out of the nba for a while and bounced around a lot before he became a pf/c in an extreme smallball system. hopefully THT has a smoother ride to relevance.

 

The packed schedule likely also means more playing time. The Harell signing in particular seems like Pelinka and staff were prepping to get thru this regular season while still being able to limit injury/fatigue risk

 

He'll get a lot of regular-season minutes to preserve our wings and they will probably reign him in during the playoffs unless the kid just turns out to be like prodigy-type talent. Guy is stocky and quick he can probably wear down some wings and help preserve our guys. He's a depth piece for sure.

edit: was talking to someone today who mentioned THT was "only" 6'4". Well, with a 7'1 wingspan, it gives him a +9 difference which would give him the 2nd greatest wingspan-to-height ratio in a league already full of physical freaks. That also lets him switch off onto bigs in a pinch, not to mention his bulk, which @ 238lbs, will let him hold his ground and be stable inside.

 

So fat

—Magic (Probably)

 

yeah, tbh, you can get away playing him at sf with those measurements, i'd think. that's sg height and sf/pf wingspan. if he can move his feet on defense, he has a chance to be a really interesting utility player, at worst. if he can replicate some of his offensive game from college/g league in the pros on top of that, he's a star.

obviously, that's a lot of ifs. but it's good that everybody in the organization seems to think he's pretty good.

 

Hopefully thick. And solid.