Nick Young of the Los Angeles Lakers recently signed with the Golden State Warriors. Was this the right move for him?
The Nick Young era with the Los Angeles Lakers has come to an end. After spending the past four seasons with the Lakers, Young will be moving on.
This offseason, Young declined a player option to stay with the Lakers. After a pretty good season, this didn’t come as too much of surprise. Young positioned himself well to either get another new contract or play for a contending team.
After a really strong year in the 2013-14 season, Young had a tough stretch for the better part of the next two seasons in Los Angeles. However, while many thought he might be done, Young proved many wrong with a strong season as a starter for the Lakers last year.
In his career, Young has primarily been a sixth man or rotation player. Last season, he started all 60 games that he played in. In the 2016-17 season, Young averaged 13.2 points per game and shot just over 40 percent from beyond the arc. After the strong season, Young will be joining a new team.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Young has decided to play for the Golden State Warriors.
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
This is a dream scenario for Young. When the Warriors expressed an interest in Young, he would have been foolish not to go to Golden State. After winning their second NBA Title in three years, the Warriors have a dynasty brewing with a great core.
In this offseason, the Warriors have been able to retain that core, as they signed Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodola, and Shaun Livingston. Add in Young and Omir Casspi, and the Warriors have actually improved this offseason.
For Young, he might not have as big of a role as in years past. Unless there is an injury, it is hard to imagine that Young would ever be on the court to finish a game with the Warriors. However, he will be able to provide them with a proven veteran off the bench.
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As a very good three-point shooter and scorer, Young will fit in nicely with the Warriors. As big favorites to repeat as champions, expect to Young playing some meaningful basketball in June next season.