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Report: Lakers will try to trade Nick Young this summer

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at Pepsi Center on March 2, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets defeated the Lakers 117-107. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

Doug Pensinger

In the aftermath of the D’Angelo Russell/Nick Young Snapchat scandal, one thing is clear: those two cannot be teammates next season. And Russell, at age 20 with franchise-level talent, is too valuable to trade, which means Swaggy P will be the one the Lakers try to unload, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:

The Lakers tried to trade Young, 30, each of the last two seasons as his production dropped. There were no takers. They will likely try to find a home for him again this off-season, which won’t be easy with a player who didn’t even get off the bench in eight games last month.

The problem is that Young has two years and $11 million left on his contract, including a player option for the 2017-18 season. Even with the rising salary cap, that much money for a player whose performance has fallen off consistently over the last several years is going to be a tough sell unless the Lakers include another asset, of which they don’t have a lot they can really afford to part with.

More likely, the Lakers will end up waiving Swaggy under the stretch provision.