The Utah Jazz nearly traded Talen Horton-Tucker, but should hold off until a better deal can be had.
The Utah Jazz know that Talent Horton-Tucker isn’t a long-term piece for the franchise. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Jazz nearly sent Horton-Tucker to the Houston Rockets around the same time the Rockets traded away Kevin Porter Jr.. He was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have since waived the embattled guard.
It sounds like the talks with the Jazz were less about shipping Porter to Utah, and more about finding a piece to fill the void that Porter left. Fischer doesn’t say what the trade would’ve included for the Jazz in return, but it’s likely a combination of draft picks would’ve been the order of the day.
That is, assuming the picks were second-rounders because that’s about what Horton-Tucker is worth at the moment. You could realistically see the Jazz getting back two draft picks and maybe a bad contract for Horton-Tucker, which seems to be what Fischer was hearing, as he wrote;
"The Rockets were also in touch with Utah on deal structures that would have sent Talen Horton-Tucker to Houston, sources said. The Jazz have seen continued progress from former No. 5 pick Kris Dunn — who’s found somewhat of a resurgence in Salt Lake City — and would like to afford plenty of opportunity for 2023 first-round selection Keyonte George to handle the controls of Utah’s offense, as well."
And Horton-Tucker should be traded. As we wrote before, the only reason for him to start in the preseason was to try and entice teams to acquire him in a deal. He’s not better than Jordan Clarkson or Collin Sexton scoring the ball, and Kris Dunn, someone he’s in direct competition with is better defensively and has become a more reliable scorer than Horton-Tucker.
So there’s really no reason to keep Horton-Tucker when the combination of his age and expiring contract make him very attractive to other teams. Plus, he’s still very young, not even 25 years old, so the right coach and team may be able to get the most out of him.
But the Jazz should be mindful about trading him just yet, as he could probably help fetch someone like a Zach LaVine or a similar type of player. The Jazz, assuming they’re good enough to be in playoff contention come January, would be able to make a big swing for a fringe-elite player with the contracts they have right now.
And do so without having to give up much of their future. So it’s important that the Jazz hold off until the right deal comes along.