NBA Rumors: Toronto Raptors Negotiate Nick Young Trade For Minimum Deal; DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry Reject Lakers Star

By Mitch de Leon
Basketball - Men's Preliminary Round Group A USA v Venezuela
2016 Rio Olympics - Basketball - Preliminary - Men's Preliminary Round Group A USA v Venezuela - Carioca Arena 1 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 08/08/2016. Demar Derozan (USA) of the USA and Dwight Lewis (VEN) of Venezuela in action.  REUTERS/Eric Gay/Pool

The Toronto Raptors had a successful 2016 NBA playoffs run with the team almost beating LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in the series. While Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan did not make it to the NBA Finals to face Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, their performance in the past season turned them into serious contenders for the title. However, their loss to the JR Smith team also highlighted one problem - the Toronto Raptors cannot solely rely on their two NBA All-Star players if they truly want to get their rings.

Hence, the Toronto Raptors are looking into adding depth from the bench this NBA offseason. This is where Nick Young comes in. Earlier in his career, Swaggy P impressed the Los Angeles Lakers with his sixth man skills. With NBA trade rumors swirling around the 31-year-old shooting guard, it looks like he will be heading to Toronto sometime soon.

"I would frankly be surprised if Nick Young was on the Lakers' roster at the start of the season," commented Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. He added, "They've been trying to trade him for a while, they're still trying to trade him, they are willing to even buy him out if necessary to move on and really commit to the youth movement and let D'Angelo Russell do his thing."

Ding went on to point out, "Which to me is a little bit of a shame because Nick did bring a legitimate breath of fresh air a couple years ago with his energy, his real pride in being a Laker when the team was terrible. Unfortunately, Nick sort of became terrible in recent times and that's why they're ready to move on from him."

With the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly serious in putting Nick Young in the trading block, it appears that the veteran must look into teams that need his services. Rumors are rife that the top teams aggressively negotiating for Swaggy P include the Toronto Raptors.

Speculations point to the way Nick Young could fit in the system that revolves around Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Although no official comment has been given by any of the parties involved in this rumor, fans of the Toronto Raptors feel that a Nick Young trade would be beneficial for them. As for the Los Angeles Lakers, it appears that the D'Angelo Russell squad has long moved on from the Swaggy P era.

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