The Los Angeles Lakers are one game away from entering a very important offseason as the team has money to spend and several holes to fill on the roster. With plenty of players on their way out, the Lakers are preparing to evaluate the roster and determine who gets to stay and who goes. With players like Jeremy Lin on their way out, could someone like Nick Young be a trade piece?
According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, the Lakers are toying with the idea of trading Young in the offseason and getting rid of his four-year contract signed last season. Young locked up a long-term contract after taking advantage of more playing opportunities following the injury to Kobe Bryant last season. While Young has certainly done as much as he can this year, the Lakers understand his value on the open market and would like to rid themselves of long-term deals in order to sign top stars.
Thanks to the contract currently assigned to Bryant, if the Lakers are going to sign several big names, they need to clear more cap space than they expiring contracts of players like Lin, Steve Nash and Carlos Boozer. A trade of Young would certainly help. Teams like the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks would ideally like to take on his shooting abilities.
The Lakers are still determining the future of rookie Jordan Clarkson who has been a steal for the team so far this season. Clarkson is a low-risk, high-reward player signed to a very affordable contract. He is young and truly excelled this season after Lin dropped off. While he would have value on the trade market, the Lakers might favor his skills as a rotational player for either Rajon Rondo or Goran Dragic who are both at the top of the priority list for the Lakers.
According to the Times, the Lakers might be grooming Clarkson in order to trade him. However, the team does not plan on retaining Lin, so keeping Clarkson has a bench player might be useful. The Lakers want cap space, but Clarkson is a small hit to the pay roll so keeping him around is not an issue. With other players like Kevin Love, Greg Monroe and LaMarcus Aldridge on the wish list, low-cost players are more ideal to keep than players like Young.
