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The season hasn’t exactly gotten off to a great start for the Boston Celtics. The team is off to a 4-5 start and some of the players are already at each other’s throats. Starting guard Marcus Smart recently called out All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum by saying they need to “pass the ball.”
Brown and Tatum are the Celtics’ two young stars so Smart is likely fighting a losing battle. If he continues to cause headaches, Boston could consider moving on from the guard. The Los Angeles Lakers are another team that has struggled to start the season, in large part due to poor defensive play. Smart has been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team two times in his career. Many fans on Twitter are pushing the Lakers to make a trade for Smart.
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What Could the Lakers Offer the Celtics?
The Celtics aren’t in the business of doing the Lakers any favors due to their rivalry that spans decades. However, that won’t stop the two teams from making a trade that will benefit both sides. The only interesting tradeable asset the Lakers have right now is Talen Horton-Tucker.
The team is really high on the 20-year-old guard and his potential, but they are in win-now mode. Smart could be an immediate solution to some of their biggest problems on the defensive side of the court. For the Celtics, Horton-Tucker won’t cause any headaches and has big-time potential on both sides of the court. It’s a deal that could make sense for both sides.
THT Making Progress on Thumb Injury
The Lakers won’t even think about trading Horton-Tucker until he comes back from injury. According to head coach Frank Vogel, the guard is making progress and recently got the stitches removed from the thumb surgery he underwent on October 13. While he’s progressing, Vogel did say the original timeline for return remains the same. The original timeline for re-evaluation was four weeks so he should be getting re-evaluated soon.
Los Angeles is coming off its second loss of the season to the Oklahoma City Thunder. LeBron James is out with injury right now and it’s clear the team needs some help. Horton-Tucker should provide a boost on both sides of the court when he returns. Against the Thunder on Thursday, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony were the only players to score over 10 points on the Lakers roster. They really need more players to step up as those three can’t do everything while LeBron is out. Horton-Tucker is a guy who should be able to put up some points.
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