Forget free agency rumors, the search for a new head coach and Kobe Bryant‘s injury concerns for the 2014-15 season for a second. The era of Swaggy P might have just ended for the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Nick Young will not pick up his player option and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Believe it or not, the 2013-14 LA Lakers’ leading scorer was none other than Swaggy P himself at 17.9 points per game. He also had an atrocious defensive rating of 114 points per 100 possessions for the league’s second-worst defense last season, but we’re ignoring that because haters and non-believers are unwelcome here.
Young wants to stay with the Lakers, but there’s a chance they won’t want to pay him the long-term deal he’s seeking, especially when he was only owed $1.2 million next year. With the Lakers gearing up for the LeBron James-Carmelo Anthony pipe dream, it’s entirely possible Nick Young’s tenure with the Lakers is over after just one season. But oh, what a season it was. So in honor of his entertaining stint in LA, let’s take a look back on his 2013-14 campaign in an ode to Swaggy P.