The Chicago Bulls have officially moved on from Talen Horton-Tucker.
As part of the roster housekeeping needed to make room for trades and new signings, Chicago renounced the free-agent rights of several players on Saturday, including Horton-Tucker, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith. The list also included Yuki Kawamura, Mac McClung, Lachlan Olbrich, Nick Richards, Collin Sexton, Matt Thomas, and Guerschon Yabusele.
“As part of their moves to create the space to trade for Nic Claxton and sign Norman Powell, the Chicago Bulls renounced the FA rights to the following players: Talen Horton-Tucker, Yuki Kawamura, Mac McClung, Lachlan Olbrich, Nick Richards, Collin Sexton, Matt Thomas, Guerschon Yabusele,” Spotrac’s Keith Smith wrote Saturday.
Horton-Tucker, 25, once looked like another young piece the Lakers could build around. Los Angeles picked the Chicago native at No. 46 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft after his freshman season at Iowa State, and he walked into a championship environment right away.
He got a ring in his first year with the Lakers, putting up 5.7 points per game while shooting 46.7% from the field and 30.8% from three.
But the story turned quickly. The Lakers re-signed Horton-Tucker to a multi-year deal in the summer of 2021 and let Alex Caruso test the market, a move that has aged badly in hindsight. Caruso later joined the Chicago Bulls and has since become one of the league’s most difficult and adaptable defenders, while Horton-Tucker has fallen out of the NBA picture.
His stops with the Lakers, Utah Jazz, and Bulls never produced the kind of growth teams need from a perimeter player. Horton-Tucker has shot 29.9% from beyond the arc for his career, and his work on the ball defensively never made up for it. That combination ultimately pushed him out after stints with all three teams.
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