The Los Angeles Lakers will be moving on from guard Nick Young. The former Clipper, Wizard, and 76er had a player option for next season worth $5.6 million, but he is now expected to waive that and explore the open market.
The 32-year-old veteran has already expressed his desire to join a contending team, and due to the Lakers going in a new direction under Magic Johnson, Young was probably not in franchise's long term plans.
Source: Lakers guard Nick Young will decline his option and become a free agent.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2017
The Lakers will need all the cap space possible for their pursuits of LeBron James and Paul George next summer. As for Young himself, with the salary cap spiking substantially this summer, he could command a contract bigger than the amount he was owed by the Lakers if he took the player option. Along with that, Young could also join a contender that could use his scoring prowess off the bench.
Young had a resurgent season last year, averaging over 13 points on 40.4 percent shooting from deep. He played around 26 minutes in a starting role for the Lakers, but he was mostly a bench scorer throughout his career.
Young also had issues off the court, most notably with former Laker D'Angelo Russell. The newest acquisition of the Brooklyn Nets famously filmed the conversation where the former confessed to cheating on his then-girlfriend Iggy Azalea.
Along with the off court incidents, Young has been infamously featured on Shaqtin' A Fool on many occasions no thanks to his poor decision-making on the court. Young, in general, is a very unpredictable player, and it is tough to say where he will end up.
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