The Swaggy P era in Los Angeles appears to be coming to an end.
Shooting guard Nick Young has declined his player option and will become an unrestricted free agent, the Lakers announced Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Young had a player option with the Lakers for one more season that would have paid him $5.7 million. But after winning a starting role under first-year coach Luke Walton and enjoying a productive season in which he averaged 13.2 points, he could stand to earn a big payday on a free-agent market lacking at his position.
Despite the Lakers' struggles on the floor last season, Young was a bright spot and emerged as a legitimate two-way player by shoring up some of his defensive deficiencies for the middling Lakers. Now, after 10 seasons in the NBA, his career is somewhat resurrected and he could be an enticing offseason acquisition given his shooting ability.
With Young's decision to decline his option, it's another milestone in what has been a hectic week for the up-and-coming Lakers, who have been keeping the transaction wire humming. Not only did the front office trade D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and another 2017 first-rounder, they cleared a ton of cap space in the process -- potentially to make room for the salary of Pacers All-Star forward Paul George.
