7 veteran free agents the Los Angeles Lakers should avoid at all costs

By Jason Reed | May 25, 2022

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(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

4. Thaddeus Young

It seemed like Thaddeus Young was destined to be bought out by the San Antonio Spurs when he was included in the sign-and-trade deal that sent DeMar DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls last summer.

However, the Spurs held onto Young and never did buy him out, eventually trading him to the Toronto Raptors. If Young would have been bought out during the season then he would have been a nice addition with Davis being hurt and Trevor Ariza being a massive disappointment.

However, with the entire 2021-22 season behind him and a new season ahead of the Lakers, Young does not really make sense for the Lakers for similar reasons as others on this list. While he does have a decent mid-range jumper and is not completely lost from three, he still is not the most athletic and is far from a sharpshooter.

He is not going to create his own shot and he really is not going to help much on the glass, either. Young actually posted really positive defensive metrics last season and throughout his career but that is not what the team really needs with Davis ahead of him.

There is just no offensive impact there and the defensive impact perhaps is not as big as the advanced metrics indicate.

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