Talen Horton-Tucker Exercises $11M Player Contract Option to Remain with Jazz

Guard Talen Horton-Tucker exercised the $11 million option in his contract Tuesday to remain with the Utah Jazz in 2023-24.

In his first season as a member of the Jazz in 2022-23, Horton-Tucker set career highs with 10.7 points, 3.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.

THT started 20 of the 65 games he appeared in, and he made the most of his playing time, as he was on the court for just 20.2 minutes per contest.

Originally, Horton-Tucker was a second-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of Iowa State, and he spent his first three NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After performing well in his second season, Horton-Tucker signed a three-year, $30.78 million contract extension with the Lakers in 2021, including a player option for the 2023-24 campaign.

Horton-Tucker averaged 9.0 points, 2.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 2020-21, while also shooting 45.8 percent from the field, which remains his most efficient shooting in a season in which he played at least seven games.

While Horton-Tucker's per-game averages were largely the same in 2021-22, his field goal percentage dropped to .416, which apparently led to him falling out of favor in L.A.

Perhaps feeling some buyer's remorse after signing Horton-Tucker to an extension, the Lakers dealt him and Stanley Johnson to the Jazz prior to the 2022-23 season for veteran guard Patrick Beverley.

The Jazz weren't necessarily in the business of playing winning basketball in 2022-23 after trading away All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in separate deals, so they were willing to see what some of their younger players could do, including Horton-Tucker.

It is unclear if the Jazz would have kept the 22-year-old Horton-Tucker had the option belonged to them, but THT wanted to see out the remainder of his contract, and he has a chance to maintain a significant role in the backcourt.