A lot of players who play for the Los Angeles Lakers end up getting overhyped after they show promising signs earlier in their careers. That’s because the Lakers constantly have so many eyeballs watching them.
Talen Horton-Tucker was one of the recent examples of a young player who skyrocketed to stardom after impressing Lakers fans. This led to him getting a three-year, $30 million contract with the team, which forced them to let Alex Caruso walk in free agency.
That was a huge mistake in hindsight, as Caruso was a key piece for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s recent championship run, while Horton-Tucker is now out of the league. According to BasketNews, Horton-Tucker is signing a deal with Fenerbahce Istanbul of the EuroLeague.
The guard is only 24, but is coming off a season where he only averaged 6.5 points a game with the Chicago Bulls. He likely still wants to play in the NBA, but with no teams eager to sign him right now, he’s going to play overseas for now.
Fenerbahce Istanbul is one of the top teams in the EuroLeague and is fresh off a championship run. Though Horton-Tucker will need to earn a spot in the rotation, he could help his NBA chances if he plays well.
Lakers Brass Was Recently in Europe to Support Luka Doncic
Though the EuroLeague season is over for now, EuroBasket is underway. Lakers star Luka Doncic has been leading his Slovenian squad, and this is his first time representing Los Angeles overseas.
Recently, vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and team governor Jeanie Buss took a trip to Europe to support the star guard. Pleinka explained why it was important for them to show up.
“We just wanted to make a statement to Luka that we support what he does for his country. That’s really important to the Lakers when we have a player that’s the face of our franchise, just to show that support for him,” Pelinka said, per The Athletic. “And it’s just great to see him with his teammates, interacting, having fun. As you said, he is in great shape, really committed to working hard this summer, and to be able to watch that in person was worth flying over the ocean to come be with him.”
However, Pelinka made it clear they didn’t want to cause a distraction.
“We want to let him focus and dedicate to this tournament, EuroBasket, and not distract him in any way,” Pelinka said. “We want him to a hundred percent be able to play for his country with pride, and he’ll turn his attention to the Lakers as soon as this tournament ends, hopefully with them going far and maybe winning.”
Doncic Appreciative of Support
The Lakers already got Doncic to sign a contract extension this offseason, so they didn’t need to make a trip to Europe to convince him that they care about him. Regardless, he’s appreciative to see the Lakers’ leadership show up to support him.
“It means a lot,” Doncic said. “It’s a long flight. I think it’s like 11, 12 hours, so it means a lot for them just to be here to support me.”
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