The Los Angeles Lakers and their fans have anointed a number of players as a future star, be it Kyle Kuzma or Dalton Knecht or Jaxson Hayes. Every team loves to hype up their new rookies and reclamation projects; the Lakers just do it better than anyone else.
One such player to bask in the hype was Talen Horton-Tucker, right up until he was traded away. The versatile and high-potential wing has now found a new home -- and it's a long way from Hollywood.
The Lakers drafted Talen Horton-Tucker with the 46th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Iowa State. He had a good freshman season for the Cyclones, part of a freshman class that also included Tyrese Haliburton. His incredibly large wingspan -- 7'1" on his 6'4" frame, a gargantuan +9 wingspan -- made him an intriguing prospect with the potential to grow into a defensive monster with real on-ball skill.
He joined a contending Lakers team that would go on to win the NBA Finals in the NBA Bubble, so his role as a rookie was limited and he spent most of his time before the COVID shutdown with the South Bay Lakers. He played in six regular season games as a rookie and just two postseason games, but when you combine the shine of the Lakers with the shine of a title-winning team, suddenly the future seemed endlessly bright for Horton-Tucker.
He became a full-time rotation player for the Lakers over the next two seasons, showing tantalizing flashes of upside with the occasional breakout game. In one late-season game against the Golden State Warriors in his third season he dropped 40 points with three steals; in another contest he had 25 points and 12 rebounds.
In between the flashes, however, he disappeared. As a role player he struggled because his shot never developed, and he hit only 27.6 percent from deep and 50.9 percent from 2-point range. He had active hands and could generate steals, but he wasn't a lockdown defender. The Lakers ended up moving on after three seasons, sending him to the Utah Jazz.
Horton-Tucker spent the last three seasons on the Jazz and Chicago Bulls, with each team thinking they had bought low on a future starter and ending up disappointed. After last season the Bulls moved on, and Horton-Tucker spent the summer without an NBA home.
Talen Horton-Tucker has signed with a new team
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That uncertainty has now been resolved with an overseas trip. Horton-Tucker announced this week that [he will be signing with](https://basketnews.com/news-229948-talen-horton-tucker-finalizing-euroleague-move.html) Turkish powerhouse club Fenerbahce in Istanbul, Turkey. He joins a team that will be defending their EuroLeague championship, and he will not be alone among NBA talent.
Former NBA players Brandon Boston, Wade Baldwin IV, Nicolo Melli and Khem Birch are also on the Fenerbahce roster. Horton-Tucker may be most directly replacing Nigel Hayes-Davis, who returned to the NBA and signed with the Phoenix Suns. Perhaps a similar boomerang journey will be in the cards for Horton-Tucker if he plays well overseas.
There are few larger stages in Europe than Fenerbahce, and Horton-Tucker's versatile game may play better against slower defenders. Lakers fans will likely keep one eye on Horton-Tucker to see if that breakout finally comes -- or if yet another team finds itself disappointed.