Just a day ago, Nick Young went out of his way to stress his beef with young point guard D’Angelo Russell was over.
Now it doesn’t sound like it will matter.
According to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, it’s “unlikely” Young will still be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers by the time the regular season rolls around.
It makes perfect sense, really, and it only has a little bit to do with Young’s beef with Russell, which revolved around the rookie video taping him talking about cheating on then-fiance Iggy Azalea.
One glance at the depth chart tells the whole story. Young is now 31 years old with a rather hefty price tag and only managed 7.3 points per game last year. He faded from the rotation and it’s something that will only continue with Jordan Clarkson back in the fold and the arrivals of Luol Deng and Brandon Ingram.
While it may have nothing to do at all with his job status, Young posted an interested tweet recently:
Fight for what you want
— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) August 16, 2016
The Lakers can free cap space by moving Young, though which team would want to inhale his contract while knowing the Lakers might cut him loose anyway is hard to say.
Young’s NBA career is far from over, but from the sounds of Ding’s video, the Lakers will keep searching for ways to move on and really let the young guys take control of the franchise.
The headlines will go to the whole Young-Russell beef, but it’s really a matter of simple NBA logistics.
