Life as a Los Angeles Laker doesn't seem as swaggy as it used to be for guard Nick Young. Despite Young's recent comments about mending fences with D'Angelo Russell and "feeling good" about his conversations with new coach Luke Walton, his days with the Lakers could be numbered. From Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding in a video segment:
<figcaption class="image-embed-figcaption">Nick Young might not be a Laker at the start of the season. USATSI </figcaption></figure>Young tempered his optimism in his interview with the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina by saying that he didn't know if Los Angeles would keep him. It appears he did that with good reason.
Beyond Swaggy P's clashes with former coach Byron Scott and the Russell fiasco, there are basketball reasons for his possible exit. Even if you dismiss his 32.5 percent mark from 3-point range last season as the product of a terrible, outdated offense, you can't make excuses for the holes that still exist in his game. After nine seasons in the league, Young can bring shooting to the Lakers, but that's about it. If Walton wants more ball movement and more accountability on defense, it probably doesn't make sense to make Young part of the rotation. Parting ways might be best for both sides.
"I would frankly be surprised if Nick Young was on the Lakers' roster at the start of the season. They've been trying to trade him for a while, they're still trying to trade him, they are willing to even buy him out if necessary to move on and really commit to the youth movement and let D'Angelo Russell do his thing. Which to me is a little bit of a shame because Nick did bring a legitimate breath of fresh air a couple years ago with his energy, his real pride in being a Laker when the team was terrible. Unfortunately, Nick sort of became terrible in recent times and that's why they're ready to move on from him."
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Beyond Swaggy P's clashes with former coach Byron Scott and the Russell fiasco, there are basketball reasons for his possible exit. Even if you dismiss his 32.5 percent mark from 3-point range last season as the product of a terrible, outdated offense, you can't make excuses for the holes that still exist in his game. After nine seasons in the league, Young can bring shooting to the Lakers, but that's about it. If Walton wants more ball movement and more accountability on defense, it probably doesn't make sense to make Young part of the rotation. Parting ways might be best for both sides.
