With the Los Angeles Lakers going all-in to sign superstars Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James this summer, players from last year’s squad took a backseat in terms of priority for the team.
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Fortunately, once LeBron and Carmelo passed on Los Angeles, Nick Young was able to sign with the team on a long-term deal. Young was ecstatic to be able to remain a Laker long-term.
The Lakers rewarding the Los Angeles native for his impressive first season with the team hasn’t gone unnoticed. Another L.A. native, Baron Davis, said the following about Young staying with the purple and gold, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
“Nick’s finally starting to get his credit and it’s good that the Lakers stepped up to the plate and showed that they wanted him to be here,” Davis said. “I think he has a growing brand and he’s a young player that can do some things. It means a lot for the community to have local guys on the Lakers, because it means something to the Drew, it means something to the little kids growing up here that want to play basketball, aspire to be basketball players. When you got some L.A. guys on your local home team, it makes a big difference.”
With Young inking a four-year deal, the USC alum will be in Los Angeles for a little while longer and could potentially be a starter next season. Young averaged a career-high 17.9 points per game last season helping shoulder the scoring load with superstar Kobe Bryant stuck watching from the sidelines due to a season-ending knee injury.
Young made his annual appearance at The Drew League in Los Angeles this past weekend leading his team to victory with 26 points.
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