Report: Lakers also shut down Nick Young for remainder of season

The Los Angeles Lakers are pulling the plug on a third high-profile veteran for the remainder of the 2016-17 season.

Mark Medina of the LA Daily News reports on Sunday that Nick Young has been shut down for the final five games of the regular season.

The 31-year-old Young joins Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng, both of whom also were made healthy scratches for the rest of the season last month. Young had actually been having something of a resurgence this year with 13.2 points per game on 43.0 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from deep while also putting forth a strong display on defense. But the writing had been on the wall with the Lakers moving to prioritize the development of their young guys.

While the decision won’t have many implications in the short-term with Young already sitting out the Lakers’ last eight games as a DNP-CD, it very well could affect his future with the team if he’s being pushed out the door as Young holds a $5.67 million player option for next season.