Los Angeles Lakers guard-forward Nick Young. (Photo : Reuters)
When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Portland Trailblazers in July, the team created a $10.5 million trade exception that they can use to acquire potential role players this coming season. Reportedly, one of David Blatt's targets is Los Angeles Lakers guard-forward Nick Young.
The 30-year-old veteran had been one of the Lakers more potent off-the-bench scorers in the past two years chiefly because Kobe Bryant was always sidelined with various season-ending injuries.
He had also been the subject of many trade rumors this summer as the franchise reportedly shopped him around during the offseason, as per Sports World Report, although no suitable deals were found.
With the Lakers' recent acquisition of 2015 Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams, it seems like Young's role in the team would be significantly cut this coming season, especially now that Kobe is back and their young players are beginning to rise up.
Young still has a lot of years left in his NBA career and if his growth and opportunities as a player will be hindered then it might be time for the former USC standout to leave the Lakers' ball-dominating logjam.
With that, Young's experience and bench scoring can be particularly useful for a championship contending team like the Cavs as they are set to enter the playoffs again next year. This means that Young could be targeted by Cleveland right before the trading deadline in February depending on his performance this season.
Bleacher Report noted that aside from scoring, Young could also provide defensive help to the Cavs as he managed to hold opposing players to only "27.9 percent shooting from outside of 15 feet last season." Surprisingly, he can contribute more than what most people think.
