The Lakers Are Trying To Trade Nick Young This Summer Just Like The Last Two Summers

nick young, d'angelo russell
Getty Image

Someone who the Lakers have been trying to trade for two years is caught in a bit of a locker room tiff, so the Lakers are still trying to trade him, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

Here’s more from Bresnahan:

The Lakers tried to trade [Nick] Young, 30, each of the last two seasons as his production dropped. There were no takers. They will likely try to find a home for him again this off-season, which won’t be easy with a player who didn’t even get off the bench in eight games last month.

The Lakers signed Young to a four-year, $21.5 million deal before the 2014-15 season. It seems like they regretted it relatively quickly.

Even if you choose to ignore the entire D’Angelo Russell situation, Young has been far from acceptable on the court this year. He’s shooting just 34 percent from the field, and now has games when he doesn’t even see the floor. Meanwhile, he is owed $5.4 million next year and has a $5.7 million player option for 2017-18, per Basketball Insiders.

That’s far from a desirable deal for any team, and the Lakers, in the midst of a rebuild, aren’t in much of a position to give up picks just to get Young off the roster. So, the next-best option, if L.A. truly wants him out of town, may be a buyout. But still, would there be enough incentive for Young to accept such an offer? His value on the open market probably wouldn’t be anything more than a minimum deal right now, so the Lakers would likely have to pay most of the money remaining on his contract, anyway. Would that be worth it?

(Los Angeles Times</a>)

×