Lakers Draft Evaluations: Comparing Then & Now

Jan 23, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers small forward Nick Young (0) reacts after a shot against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Young

NBA Comparison: Josh Howard

Strengths:

“Young is a throwback player who really understands how to employ the mid-range jumper… Ball handling ability is above average… Will use a number of spins, hesitation moves and crossovers to gain separation for his pull-up jumper… When he moves without the ball he shows solid ability to work off screens, hesitation moves and crossovers to gain separation for his pull-up jumper… When he moves without the ball he knows solid ability to work off screens and convert catch and shoot… Post up skills are advanced as he welcomes the opportunity to shoot his turnaround jumper…”

Weaknesses:

“Goes through periods in the game where he will settle for the jumper instead of the driving to the basket and drawing fouls… Doesn’t get to the line as much as he should because of this… Doesn’t always maintain a high level of intensity on defense… Some questions have been raised as to whether he has the killer instinct and toughness to consistently compete…”

How accurate was his evaluation?

Swaggy P has had a very interesting NBA career. It started off on the wrong foot when he (and three other players) was fined $10,000 apiece when participating in Gilbert Arenas’ shenanigans involving Arenas pointing his fingers as a pair of guns at teammates and “shooting” at them. Off the court, Young is also known for his sense of fashion and is constantly a favorite of the media, recently saying last month he blames his season-long struggles on the rim and wants to “take her out on a date or something.” On the court, the “Prophet of Swag” has shown to be a real liability on defense. To put things in perspective, the Defensive Box Plus Minus or DBPM (a statistic measuring defensive points per 100 possessions a player contributes to a above-average league player, translated to an average time) of Young has always been in the negatives, last season being -4.3. The top 10 defenders in the NBA all have DBPMs over 3.0. Young’s PERs over the years have always been below average, except in 2013-14 when he finished with 16. Young’s WS/48 have also all been dreadful, averaging .053 in his career. Young can score, but that’s it.

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