It has been a rough season, to say the least for veteran Nick Young. Despite getting off a to a decent start to the 2015-16 campaign for the Los Angeles Lakers, Young once again fell out of favor with head coach Byron Scott and was stuck watching games from the sidelines.
With the season officially over for the Lakers, Young was asked about his future with the team.
The 30-year-old gave an honest answer during his exit interview at the team’s practice facility on Thursday, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Nick Young do you want to be back next year?
Answer: "I just want to play basketball again, wherever. I just want to enjoy being out there"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 14, 2016
Along with falling out of the rotation, Young’s incident with rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell didn’t help the situation in Los Angeles. Although Russell received the bulk of the blame for the distraction to the team, the scandal involving the leaked video of the NBA journeyman may have sealed his fate.
Once the scandal with Russell became a hot topic of discussion on a national level, rumors began to surface once again about Young’s status with the Lakers. The team may very well attempt to trade Young in the off-season if they can find a team to take on the final two years of his contract. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility Young is waived by the team if unable to find a trade suitor this summer.
In 54 games this season, Young averaged 7.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while shooting 33.9 percent from the floor and 32.5 from beyond the arc.