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He said he had sparked interest from both the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. But Young viewed Dallas’ eventual acquisition in guard Monta Ellis and Sacramento’s reported interest in him as signals that neither partnership would work.
“I didn’t want to sit around and wait on what was going to happen,” Young said. “I felt like this would be a good opportunity.”
He has plenty of good reasons to feel that way.
The Lakers hope Young’s scoring mentality will help absorb Kobe Bryant’s possible absence to open the season stemmed from his torn left Achilles tendon. On a team full of veteran-laden players with little speed, Young’s freakish athleticism and age (28) suddenly makes this team more capable of running Mike D’Antoni’s system at a faster pace. And Young said he “definitely” saw the Lakers waiving Metta World Peace through the amnesty provision as a clear sign they want him to have a significant role.
Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
