The Lakers signed 10 free agents this offseason.
None got a higher salary than Talen Horton-Tucker, who re-signed on a three-year, $30.78 million contract.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, their faith in the 20-year-old shooting guard won’t translate onto the court for a while.
Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will undergo surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 11, 2021
Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes:
Re: Horton-Tucker: Average lost time following surgery for an in-season ligament tear of the thumb is 26 games (~7 weeks) though the number has improved in recent seasons. Capela, CP3, and Marcus Smart all returned after missing an average of 15 games.
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) October 11, 2021
Between this and Trevor Ariza‘s injury, the Lakers are becoming thin on the wing, especially with defensive-minded players.
Still, Los Angeles has plenty of options with Wayne Ellington, Kendrick Nunn, Kent Bazemore and – once he recovers from his own minor injury – Malik Monk.
The Lakers could also, at least temporarily, ditch a plan to start Anthony Davis at center. Starting Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan, sliding Davis to power forward and LeBron James to small forward would help fill the wing rotation.
Los Angeles clearly prioritized depth/optionality when building such an old roster. That helps even when the team’s youngest player gets hurt.
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Report: Lakers’ Talen Horton-Tucker tears thumb ligament, undergoing surgery originally appeared on NBCSports.com