Ever since the end of the 2015-16 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been rumored to want to part ways with veteran Nick Young. The incident with D’Angelo Russell made national headlines for weeks and may have marked the end of Young’s stint with the team.
Recently, Young admitted that he’s been trying to work things out with Russell. Young appears to have moved on and wants to stay with the Lakers, but it may not be as simple as repairing his relationship with Russell.
According to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, the Lakers continue to explore their options regarding parting ways with Young:
“I would frankly be surprised if Nick Young is on the Lakers’ roster at the start of the season,” Ding said. “They’ve been trying to trade him for a while. They’re still trying to trade him. They are willing to even buy him out if necessary to move on.”
Although Young appears to be making an effort to stay with the Lakers, the writing is on the wall in Los Angeles. All signs point to Young being shipped out one way or another as the franchise attempts to stay fresh with new head coach Luke Walton and without Kobe Bryant for the first time in two decades.
It’ll be interesting to see how it all pans out for Young. Obviously, teams aren’t biting on trade proposals from the Lakers for his services. Ultimately, Young may simply be bought out as Ding suggests, making him a free agent.
In his three seasons with the Lakers, Young has averaged 13.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the floor and 36.3 from beyond the arc.