Affectionately known as “Swaggy P”, Nick Young has lately established his dynamic and often unorthodox brand with the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 2013-14 season, Young was their leading scorer at nearly 18 points per game and was many times the lone bright spot for the Lakers, particularly when Kobe Bryant went down. But he struggled this past season having only played half of the season due to injury.
In the Lakers’ efforts to re-group and re-tool for next season, Young’s name was brought up constantly in potential trades, despite his confidence that he would remain a Laker. As it stands, Young is still a Laker, and they have since taken him off of the trading block.
How did all of this make Nick Young feel? Following from Serena Winters of Lakers Nation.
Nick Young admitted summers been tough with his name in all the trade rumors, then laughs “I felt like Pau Gasol for a minute!”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 26, 2015
Young’s future in LA became a more substantial question mark when the Lakers signed Lou Williams in free agency this summer. Williams assumes the same off-the-bench, instant-scoring role as Young, but apparently that didn’t mean Young was out of the picture.
Nick Young said Kupchak called him after Lou signing, said it was “positive,” wanted to make sure Nick knew it wasn’t a slap in the face — Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 26, 2015
Nick Young on preference of starting or 6th man: “I would like to start. It would be good to change the role…but I’m ready for whatever.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 27, 2015
The Lakers need all of the firepower they can muster in order to reach some kind of competitive standing next season. For now, still having Nick Young contributes in that regard.
