NBA Rumors: Wizards Must Move On Without Overrated Free Agent Nick Young

The Washington Wizards have yet to make a splash in free agency, and that’s just fine.

Their leading scorer from last year is currently off the team, according to the Washington Post, and it needs to stay that way. Free agent guard Nick Young is the definition of the kind of player that has crippled this once proud franchise.

It’s all about points with Young, and he certainly scored his fair share in his contract year, averaging 17.4 per game. That’s fine and dandy until you consider it took him an average of 14.65 attempts to get there. The volume shooter has a 43 percent shooting percentage for his career and could care less about his teammates.

If Young hoists almost 15 shots a game, you figure he has the ball in his hands quite often. He ideally plays a strong role in the offense, right? If that were true, how do you explain his grand total of 1.2 assists per game?

That is ridiculous.

The 6'7", 210 pound shooting guard is what he is after four years in the league.

The Wiz made one of the most underrated trades of the year last season when they received rookie shooting guard Jordan Crawford from the Hawks in a deal that sent Mike Bibby to Atlanta. Crawford was wasting away on the bench in Atlanta, and he made up for lost time by averaging more than 17 points a game in the final two months of the season.

He has more explosiveness and a higher ceiling than Young, while only making $1.1 million. Young would be much more expensive—more than the $5 million mid-level exception expensive.

The Wizards are not going to a championship this season. This year is all about allowing the sensational John Wall to experience another season, continue to learn the pro game and get comfortable with guys like rookies Jan Vesely and Shelvin Mack as well as JaVale McGee and Crawford.

It looks like the Wiz plan on holding on to their amnesty with Rashard Lewis for another year, so they will be entering next offseason with a bevy of cap room and young trade pieces. Signing Young to a long-term deal would crush that idea.

The most telling sign of all is that there is absolutely no buzz surrounding a player that scored more than 17 points per game last season.

Nobody wants to pay this guy, and the Wizards need to take note.