A few weeks before the 2015-16 NBA season came to an end for the Los Angeles Lakers, Nick Young and rookie D’Angelo Russell were wrapped up in a scandal that dominated the headlines. A leaked video from Russell put both players in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons which made for an awkward relationship between the two and a divided locker room.
Once the season ended, rumors began to circulate about Young’s immediate future with the team. The consensus was he’d be traded or waived at some point before next season, but that may not be the case.
In a recent interview with Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News, Young talked about speaking with new head coach Luke Walton and sensing that his time with the Lakers might not be over:
Young added he sensed “good vibes” after talking with Walton a “couple of times” about his possible role. But does that mean the Lakers might plan on keeping Young?
“I left the conversations feeling good. But at the end of the day, I don’t know,” Young said. “We’ll see. I hear so much. You don’t know what to believe.”
Although Young believes there may still be a future in purple and gold, it still remains very much up in the air. Young, however, isn’t letting all the rumors about his status with the team distract him as he claims to be concentrating on putting in some work and seeing what happens once the dust settles, via Medina:
“I’m just going to keep working,” Young said. “We’ll see what happens.”
The main issue for Young moving forward will likely be his relationship with Russell. Obviously, Russell is an important piece to the Lakers young core and someone Walton and company hope to build around. Either Young figures out a way to get along with Russell or he may ultimately be headed elsewhere as expected.