NBA Rumors Round-Up
NBA Rumors: Will Lakers Keep Nick Young?
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
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Young, who can opt out of his $1.2 million contract for next season with the Lakers to test free agency this summer, said he anticipates a lot of upheaval in the team’s future. “I always wanted to be a Laker and it will be a dream come true to still be here, but it’s crazy,” Young said after practice Thursday. “You never know what happens. Last year they had a whole different team. It’s obvious they’re going to make some changes
Young has averaged a career best 17.5 points a game this season on 42 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc. Clearly, his value now far exceeds the $1.2 million he’s slated to make next season, so he’s likely to decline it and explore free agency for a bigger, long-term deal.
The Lakers have their sights set on making big splashes this summer, though, and retaining Young at a higher rate doesn’t exactly guarantee marked improvement. Kobe Bryant is going to be back next season; a lot of the minutes and shots that Young is getting now will go to him. If the Lakers believe he can excel in a smaller role and keep him at a reasonable increase, they’ll extend the offer. If not, they’ll thank him for all his help during this tumultuous season, but let him go onto the next step in his career.
Not to take anything away from Young, but he’s really been put in a position to succeed this season in D’Antoni’s free-flowing offense and with the injury issues the Lakers have had in the backcourt. Because of that, the Lakers won’t go into the offseason feeling like they have to keep him at all costs.
Per Spurs PR, Tim Duncan is “fine” after hyperextending his right knee.
Duncan’s injury occurred in the first quarter. It was a really scary moment for Spurs nation because their championship hopes would go out the window without Duncan. Even at his late stage of his career, he remains the centerpiece of just about everything they do and one of the best big men in the league. He returned in the game and went for 20 points and 15 rebounds, so clearly there’s nothing to be concerned about – although it did look bad at first.
Tennessee junior Jarnell Stokes has scheduled a press conference on campus for Friday afternoon, at which point he’s planning to announce that he’ll enter the 2014 NBA Draft, multiple sources told CBSSports.com on Thursday night. Stokes averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds this season while earning First Team All-SEC honors and leading the Vols to the Sweet 16. The 6-foot-8 forward is expected to be drafted late in the first round or somewhere in the second round. He’ll likely be the first Tennessee player selected since Tobias Harris went 19th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Stokes was one of the best big men in the NCAA Tournament and is leaving while his stock is hot. He’s a little bit undersized for the power forward position, but is strong and a tenacious rebounder. His current projected stock is in the middle-to-late portion of the second round. With the way draft prospects have been denying declaration reports, we’re going to leave him off of our declared list until he truly makes it official at his press conference.
