Maybe the name change from Nick to Nicholas is portending a more mature approach to the 2015-16 season.
Los Angeles Lakers wing Nick Young has remained playful during the preseason, but the clown prince of the NBA appears to have a renewed focus in camp. Borne of the Lakers' offseason attempts to trade him, Swaggy P is playing - and practicing - with "a chip on my shoulder."
"Leave me alone. I'm not trying to be the center of the soap opera or the drama," the normally verbose Young said recently.
He continued, opening up about his reaction to the trade rumors and his oft-combative relationship with head coach Byron Scott:
It was confusing. It was motivating. I didn't know if I would be here.
...
Me and Byron are good, but I'm using it as motivation. I'm just trying to do my part and stay alive. I'm trying to do everything he tells me to do. Anything I got to do to stay out there on the court.
What he has to do to stay on the court, Scott has said, is do something other than shoot. A gifted but largely inefficient scorer with an aversion to passing, rebounding, and defending, Young has long been criticized for being one-dimensional, making him difficult to play when his shot isn't falling.
The early returns on Young's new attitude are encouraging.
"He's surprised me a little bit," Scott said. "During practice, he's been a whole lot more serious."
The Lakers have maintained Young's personality doesn't need to change, and they welcome the affable demeanor, the jokes, the funny commentary, so long as it comes at the right time. Success has a way of creating leniency, and while the Lakers probably aren't playoff bound, a more complete on-court Young could make his antics more tolerable for those who generally groan at preening and smiling on a 60-loss team.
Two years ago, Young had his most successful season, averaging 17.9 points at slightly better than league-average efficiency. His role will be smaller with a deeper offensive squad in 2015-16, but there's a path to playing time at small forward if Young can stay in Scott's good graces.
Through six preseason games, Swaggy P is averaging 11.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and one assist in 22.2 minutes while knocking down 43.8 percent of his threes. Scott, who wants the team to shoot from outside more this season, may find Young and his 37.6-percent career mark from long-range is one of his best bets for doing so.
