Nick Young to Los Angeles Clippers: Why Gambling on Young Will Sink Lob City
The Clippers dealt Brian Cook and a draft pick in the deal.
The deal lands the Clippers a scoring shooting guard, something they were in need of after Chauncey Billups went down for the season with an injury.
Young is a scorer, there's no questioning that. The 26-year-old is averaging 16.6 points per game this season, and has the capacity to keep the defense honest with his ability to hit the three ball (averaging 1.8 treys a game).
On paper, Young is a wise addition. But in reality, this will prove to be a different story.
While Young can score, he doesn't do much else. Despite averaging over 30 minutes a game for Washington, he's currently averaging a measly 2.4 rebounds and just 1.4 assists per outing.
I mean, couldn't the 6'7'' Young get his hands on a few more boards than that?
He's not a very driven player and was only able to put up numbers with the Wizards because of their undisciplined style of play. His value is exaggerated based on his scoring output, but there's obviously way more to consider in basketball than one's ability to score.
A major area of concern is his defense. He's simply not a proven defender, but he will have to become a superb defender if the Clips are going to compete out West.
As of now, Young doesn't stand a chance guarding Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant, but can he even keep up with players like James Harden or Manu Ginobili.
He may be able to supply quality plays on defense in stints, but how about throughout the course of a game? Or throughout the course of a playoff run?
There are certainly reasons to have doubts about such questions.
What's more, Young has barely any playoff experience. The Wizards made the playoffs in 2008, his rookie season, but he received very few minutes.
What's apparent is that Young doesn't have the drive, defense or the experience to become a major difference-maker for the Clippers, who are a team seeking to contend.
If the Clips really desired a true difference-maker, they should've pursued a tested veteran, such as Ray Allen. That's the type of player this Clippers team could use.
But the undisciplined Young will very likely end up inhibiting things in Los Angeles. This is a gamble the Clippers should've stayed away from, because Young's free-firing presence in the backcourt will most likely end up sinking the Clips rather than improving them.
