The Los Angeles Lakers front office has made many poor decisions since LeBron James joined in the summer of 2019.
The Lakers stopped trading that was a huge hit with Anthony Davis and Luka Donsic during their James days, but there were more mistakes.
Swapping Kentabius Caldwell Pope and Kyle Kuzma for Russell Westbrook and letting Alex Caruso leave at his free agency are two main examples.
Lakers fans will be reminded of another front office error as the player who signed a $32 million contract in LA is no longer in the NBA.
The Orlando Magic drafted Talen Horton Tucker on the 46th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and quickly traded it for the Lakers.
The shooting guard played little in his first season as the Lakers won the championship, but he grew into a valuable role player for the second time.
The Lakers and Horton Tucker then agreed to a three-year, $32 million rookie contract extension in the 2021 offseason.
This lucrative deal shows that the Lakers view Horton-Tucker as a future starter, and Alex Caruso was also killed.
However, he was overwhelmed by his third season in Los Angeles, and was traded for the Utah Jazz for Patrick Beverly the following summer.
Horton-Tucker has consistently shown signs of being a good player, but after two years with the Jazz and a year with the Chicago Bulls, his NBA career was over.
BasketNews reports that the 24-year-old is approaching agreeing to a deal with Euroleague Club Fenerbahce.
Talen Horton-Tucker played just six regular seasons and two playoff games in his rookie year with the Ra Lakers.
In his second season in Los Angeles, he was convinced that there could be significant potential for the Lakers front office.
| season | game | Min | point | FG% | 3p% | rebound | assist |
| 2021-22 | 60 | 25.2 | 10.0 | 41.6 | 26.9 | 3.2 | 2.7 |
| 2020-21 | 65 | 20.1 | 9.0 | 45.8 | 28.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| 2019-20 | 6 | 13.5 | 5.7 | 46.7 | 30.8 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
He averaged 9.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists on reasonable efficiency as a shooting guard at the 21-year-old.
However, Horton-Tucker’s field goal percentage took a step back the following season, but it couldn’t afford to happen as a non-taker.