We know two things about Nick Young in relation to his current status with the Lakers.
He loves playing for the purple and gold despite being a part of one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
And, he’ll almost certainly opt out of the minimum-salary player option he has for next season in hopes of securing a more lucrative, long-term deal.
But all things being equal, Young has made it known that he’d prefer to stay in Los Angeles.
From Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles:“Of course I want to be here and be a part of a team that’s going to the playoffs and fighting for championships and really get a chance to get that feeling of being a part of that Laker parade and having my little speech like (Shaquille O’Neal) did, ‘Can you dig it?’ Have my own sayings, you know? So, I’ve thought about that a lot. That would really be a great dream come true.”
Young made it sound like he thinks those dreams can be realized.
“I’m very confident,” Young said when asked about his chances of returning to the Lakers. “I think we’re going to come to some kind of agreement and hopefully it happens. We just got to see what they’re going to do.”
Much has been made of the Lakers having plenty of salary cap space to go after high-profile free agents this summer, but the reality is that the team has just three players under guaranteed contracts for next season -- Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Robert Sacre.
There’s plenty of room, both in terms of the roster space and the available dollars to bring Young back in at a higher salary figure more representative of his contributions to the team. As long as Young and his agent don’t get too crazy in terms of their demands, there is indeed a good chance he could continue to play in Los Angeles beyond this season.