Former Lakers Champion Signs Deal With Eastern Conference Squad

A former Lakers champion has latched on with an East team.

Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker has agreed to a partially guaranteed deal with the Chicago Bulls. He is a Chicago native so he could get the chance to play for his hometown team.

NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the news of the agreement on social media.

Free agent guard Talen Horton-Tucker has agreed to a partially guaranteed deal with the Chicago Bulls, sources tell @TheAthletic. The Chicago native returns home and will have an opportunity to make Bulls roster after averaging 10.5 points over the last two seasons in Utah. pic.twitter.com/YPoIfrurh7

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 4, 2024

Horton-Tucker spent last season with the Utah Jazz, averaging 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He shot 33.0 percent from beyond the 3-point line over 51 games played, a career-high for himself.

The former Iowa State product landed in Utah as part of the deal that sent Patrick Beverley to the Lakers. He seemed to find a nice fit with the Jazz but his inconsistency got the best of him once again.

Now with the Bulls, Horton-Tucker could make a name for himself with a young team. Chicago isn't likely to contend this season, giving Horton-Tucker some leeway in his overall growth and development.

He is still only 23 years old and isn't too far removed from the Lakers believing that he was one of their core pieces moving forward. The team chose to retain Horton-Tucker over former guard Alex Caruso a few summers ago, a move that still haunts Los Angeles to this day.

The former second-round draft pick got plenty of experience while with the Lakers, helping the team win the NBA championship in 2020. He received a larger role than most people expected during the Bubble.

While it wasn't an excessive amount of playing time for Horton-Tucker during the playoffs, Los Angeles did throw him into the fire a little. He scored nine points in 10 minutes off the bench in Game 5 of the team's second-round matchup against the Houston Rockets.

His contributions helped the Lakers defeat Houston and move on to the Western Conference Finals. Horton-Tucker also became the second-youngest player in NBA history to win a championship, being only 19 years old and 322 days old when L.A. claimed the title against the Miami Heat in October 2020.

His career hasn't fully taken off just yet but he has shown flashes. He is an athletic guard that uses his length to win at the rim. But his shot has been a work in progress, making his career shooting percentage from deep last season even more impressive.

If he can latch onto a bench spot with Chicago, it could be a really nice role for him. There is still plenty of time for Horton-Tucker to make it in the NBA and he likely will be given a chance with the Bulls.

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