The Lakers Won’t Need Swaggy P Anymore
By Keith Rivas
Getting rid of Nick Yong — aka Swaggy P — might be a bit awkward or inconvenient, but it’s what needs to be done for the sake of the team.
So far in his seven years and counting in the NBA, Nick Young hasn’t done much more than be one of the more vocal mouthpieces of whatever team he’s playing for.
Other than two breakout seasons where he averaged over 17 points per game — 2010 with the Washington Wizards and 2013 with the LA Lakers — he hasn’t been overly productive.
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We saw a lot of his leadership abilities last season when Kobe Bryant and Julius Randle both went out for a large chunk of the 82-game stretch and it was all but what we wanted or needed to see.
It’s safe to say we saw more maturity from Jordan Clarkson.
Off the court, Nick Young has shown us that he’s not overly stressed about staying focused and is turning into the weak version of Scottie Pippen — and I don’t say that lightly.
Young wasn’t much a leader in Washington or in his short run with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Instead, it was a time where he dealt with rape accusations and created a whole lot of drama that’s never healthy no matter what team you are — it just proved to be too much.
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In a transition to Los Angeles, it was possible that Young would finally break though any ice still left from his cold entry into the league, but if you look at the numbers that’s not what we’re seeing.
And it’s probably not who you want being a big name for a franchise like the Lakers.
With more recent moves in the 2015 NBA Draft as well as this year’s free agency period, the Lakers have made it clear that they have no intentions of a slow rebuild and want to be back in contention as soon as possible.
They even drafted a point guard with their No. 2 overall pick.
Young played 42 out of his 131 career games with LA last season, with no starts for the first time in his professional career.
That’s never a good sign.
The reason that picking up former Ohio State star D’Angelo Russell in the draft might be a problem moving forward is that, now with everyone (or mostly everyone) mentally and physically healthy, the offense will be much more than a Swaggy P jump and shoot every time.
It’s going to start being about tempo — and that’s just not Nick Young’s style.
Now what I’m not saying is that Nick Young is terrible — he’s been a decent addition to teams in the past and very well could fit in nicely elsewhere.
But there are just sometimes where the slipper doesn’t fit.
Bottom Line: It’s time to move on for both parties involved
Some teams that might be a solid landing spot for Young would be the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, or even a team like the Charlotte Bobcats.
Nick Young needs an offense where he can make the most out of his minutes — and unfortunately that won’t be the case any longer with the Lakers.