The Los Angeles Lakers will go into the offseason faced with the problem of what to do with Nick Young yet again, but this time the circumstances have changed.
Last season Young suffered a career-low scoring average of 7.3 points per game on 33.9 percent shooting. That, on the heels of a tumultuous and highly public breakup with ex-fiancee Iggy Azalea and locker room scandal with teammate D’Angelo Russell. This year, however, Young, or should I say Swaggy Three, bounced back from last year’s slump.
Young is averaging 13.2 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting, and also became an active and capable defender under head coach Luke Walton. Walton even referred to Young as “one of our best players all season”, and the shooting guard-stretch forward certainly has been as one of the Lakers most consistent players.
Of course, because L.A. is one of the worst teams in the league with their sights set on tanking for the draft, the tail end of the season has been reserved for evaluating the younger talent on their roster. In such case, Young has seen less and less playing time down the stretch. He’s missed 10 of L.A.’s last 12 games, including eight straight. Now that it’s clear the Lakers have officially shut Young down for the remainder of the season, per Mark Medina of the LA Daily News, the only way he will see the court in L.A.’s final games is a string of injuries.
Despite his lack of playing time recently, he performed well enough throughout the season for the Lakers
to consider keeping him next year, while certainly garnering interest from other teams. The Orange County Register reports Young is thinking about opting out of his $5.7 million deal for the ‘17-18 season for a more lucrative one.
"“I got a chance to play and show Nick Young again after going through everything I went through,” Young said. “That’s the best part of everything, being able to play. You think you won’t be in the league last year. Then you start 60 games..I’m a wanted man now.”More from Lake Show LifeDarvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason openerIs LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors updateCan Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praiseMichael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated"
When asked about his preference of where to play Young responded, “It’s L.A. I’m from here, family is here, I’ve been here for four years.” But despite that preference, Young also acknowledged the reality that the Lakers are looking to rebuild through free agency. He may not be a part of that rebuilding process, especially with new management running the show. So L.A. will head into a consecutive offseason with a big question mark over Nick Young. At least for Young himself, he played his way back to relevance and proved he can be a scoring and defensive asset to a team. Because of that, he earned himself a bigger contract, but it just may not be with his hometown franchise.
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What do you think about Nick Young’s chances of returning to the Lakers? Will his resurgence make him a keeper for L.A., or will another team woo him away?