KEY POINTS

  • Pat Riley will need to decide on who to sacrifice if the Miami Heat are to acquire PJ Tucker from the Houston Rockets
  • The Los Angeles Lakers could use PJ Tucker but lack the assets
  • Multiple NBA teams are expected to ramp up the bid for Tucker before the trade deadline

The NBA All-Star weekend is usually a time when some teams would pull off surprises in the form of trades.

One name that comes to mind is PJ Tucker, someone the Houston Rockets are willing to deal away.

Several teams have been mentioned in the past weeks. That includes the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz.

The latest NBA teams added to that list are the protagonists in last year’s NBA Finals–the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

It would be best to note that the Rockets want a young player in exchange for PJ Tucker. The Heat have a lot of young players they can spare and are below the hard cap. The same cannot be said for the hard-luck Lakers.

Los Angeles has been struggling as of late with Anthony Davis out due to a calf and ACL injury. They have lost seven of their last 10 games, and pundits feel that the Lakers need to get help and fast.

Tucker would be ideal, but the problem is they do not have the resources to make it work. Los Angeles is also hard-capped with $138.9 million and has only $1.6 million to spare.

The Heat have Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson and Precious Achiuwa as players. But will team president Pat Riley sacrifice any of those names to take in a 35-year-old bruiser?

Herro, Nunn, Robinson and Achiuwa are the Heat’s future stars. If Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra would look into their future, giving up any of those names could come back to haunt them.

P.J. Tucker
P.J. Tucker #17 of the Houston Rockets Getty Images | Christian Petersen

For the Lakers, the only possible piece they can offer is Talen Horton-Tucker. But right now, the franchise needs more bodies than trading for one.

They already have Montrezl Harrell, and it would be foolish to think he would be let go by Frank Vogel.

Though there are several other teams in play for Tucker, Miami looms as a sensible choice. They have the assets Houston is looking for, so it may only be a matter of time before a deal is struck.

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