Former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Nick Young has agreed to a deal with the Golden State Warriors.
The Los Angeles Lakers knew that they were going to have to address their backcourt sooner than later. When Nick Young opted out of his contract, there was a sliver of hope that he would return to the purple-and-gold. That sliver of hope is now gone.
The Lakers officially have a hole at shooting guard as Young has decided to move on. Young has agreed to a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Young and the Warriors agreed to a one-year, $5.2 million deal. The Warriors will be using their full tax payer mid-level exception to sign Young.
Free agent guard Nick Young has agreed to a one-year, $5.2M deal with the Golden State Warriors, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2017
The rich get richer with his signing by the Warriors. When Young opted out of his contract with the Lakers, many assumed it was to land a more lucrative contract. Instead of signing a long-term deal with a team such as the New Orleans Pelicans, Young opted to try and win a ring with the Warriors.
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The Warriors have somehow improved their roster this offseason. They retained all their core pieces, as Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala all re-signed. In addition to Young, the Warriors also signed Omri Casspi to a minimum contract to further strengthen their bench. Oregon center Jordan Bell was also selected with the 38th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Warriors did not own a pick in the draft, so they bought the selection from the Chicago Bulls.
In Young, the Warriors are getting a player who revived his career last season. Young’s career was teetering on the brink, as the Lakers considered cutting him. But, head coach Luke Walton kept him and inserted him into the starting lineup. It was a move that worked out very well.
Young developed into a leader of sorts for the Lakers last season. He played excellent defense, something that was not a regularity for him previously. Young also continued to play well offensively.
Young averaged 13.2 points per game for the Lakers last season, knocking down 40.4 percent of his three-point attempts. He added 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists as well.
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Young will be an excellent addition to the Warriors bench. His minutes will be cut back from what he was receiving with the Lakers, but his chances to win have improved exponentially. The chance to win a ring is what attracted Young to the Warriors, as he put winning ahead of money this offseason.