Lakers Rumors: Latest on Potential Nick Young Trade and Kevin Seraphin Pursuit

Things haven’t been all that bad for the Los Angeles Lakers since their potential crisis early in this free-agency period.

After missing out on LaMarcus Aldridge and most of the other top free agents, the Lakers made a number of smart moves in an attempt to build around a young core, including trading for Roy Hibbert and signing Lou Williams and Brandon Bass.

But there is still plenty of work left to do for the team to climb back to the heights it has reached at numerous occasions in the past, and with plenty of offseason still left, the rumor mill is running strong for the Lakers right now.

Lakers not alone in pursuit of Kevin Seraphin

Mark Duncan/Associated Press

Despite signing a number of players to bolster the roster after missing out on the top free agents this year, it appears Los Angeles is far from finished building its roster to try to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

According to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers, among other teams, have shown interest in adding some depth to the roster in the form of former Wizards center Kevin Seraphin:

There is some serious competition for the Lakers—with the Mavericks in particular needing to bring in players to fill out a thin roster—but Los Angeles is determined to build a competitive team after its recent struggles.

With a load of talent at guard, both old and new, adding another big man to backup Hibbert or add depth behind Randle—who spent almost all of last year on the bench with an injury—should be a priority for the Lakers, and Seraphin is one of the best options still available in free agency.

As a backup last season for the Wizards, Seraphin averaged 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds, numbers he could improve on with an increased role with the Lakers, should the franchise land him.

Nick Young no longer on the trading block

Aaron Gash/Associated Press

With all of the names being brought in this offseason, the Lakers have been looking to clear up a little bit of cap space by offloading players.

One of the names tossed around most often as a potential trade chip to clear space is much-maligned wing Nick Young. But while the Lakers were shopping the forward around this offseason, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register reported that any potential trade is now off the table:

Last season, Young averaged 13.4 points per game coming off the bench—good for second on the team behind Kobe Bryant—but received a ton of criticism for his poor field-goal shooting, hitting a career-low 36.6 percent of his field-goal attempts.

This development leaves Byron Scott with the unenviable task of figuring out a way to spread around touches on a team with Bryant, Young and Lou Williams while still keeping the young trio of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle heavily involved. Still, this is a positive for the Lakers, who are fighting to get back into the playoffs:

Young isn’t the most efficient shooter in the league but is yet another scorer for a team that finished tied for 17th in points per game last year. He should help the rebuild that the Lakers have been undertaking for the past couple of seasons.