DeMarcus Cousins and D'Angelo Russell (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The LA Lakers are still in the middle of NBA trade rumors, but a surprising twist emerges as Nick Young may not be the one to go.
The deadline to stretch Nick Young has passed last August 31. While some fans are monitoring the situation anticipating the departure of Swaggy P, the Lakers did not make a move. According to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, that was actually the right thing to do.
"This was the wise move, because the Lakers probably don't need any extra cap flexibility this year. Better to eat Young's salary now than deal with portions of it in 2021. It also leaves open the possibility, however negligible, they can trade Young and remove his salary from the books entirely," Feldman stated.
Despite Nick Young's resolve to fix their relationship, it is believed that he or D'Angelo Russell should leave the team. Since Russell is seen as the future of their team, if not their current best player, Young has been on the trading block. But trading Swaggy P is easier said than done.
While not stretching Young leaves the door open to trade him, some observers had the situation turned sideways believing that not stretching Nick Young made him indispensable. That seemed to happen in this report by Sportsrageous, a site which has also made preposterous claims before.
The article states that it's Russell, not Young who's likely to leave.
"According to the latest NBA rumors, the Lakers decision to let 'Swaggy P' stay signals a nearing trade between D'Angelo Russell and DeMarcus Cousins."
There are no links or references when the article mentioned "NBA rumors."
To be fair, there are reasons stated that led to this hypothesis. One of them is the Yi Jianlian signing, which we have discussed in a previous report and Cousins was indeed mentioned as a target.
Another basis is that the Kings have always had interest in D'Angelo Russell. The Kings wanted him before the 2015 Draft and Marc Stein of ESPN bared that they still wanted him at the 2016 Draft.
Sacramento has been heavily engaged in trade talks all week and sources say one player they've tried to land is the Lakers' D'Angelo Russell
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 23, 2016
It can't be ruled out but it's a tough claim that goes against everything that the Lakers have been working on. The conspiracy theory, if you may call it that, is that the Lakers are showcasing Russell (like in Summer League) to increase his trade value so that they won't have to add too much in Cousins-Russell trade.
It's a tough call to make but we'll just have to wait and see if any of this holds true.
