After reportedly being ruled out of the running to land Carmelo Anthony, it appears the Los Angeles Lakers are moving on to other options, and the team has been very active today, re-signing two key role players in addition to trading for Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin.
Nick Young was first, agreeing to terms on four-year, $21.5 million deal to remain in Los Angeles. Coming off of a tremendous individual season, Young has always maintained that he wanted to work out a long-term deal with the Lakers since opting out of his old contract. He will receive a huge raise, as he had previously signed for the NBA’s minimum salary.
Nick Young agrees to 4-yr/$21.5M deal to stay with Lakers.
http://t.co/dYAhcQhNG8 pic.twitter.com/L17HkzriKi
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 11, 2014
Young, who is 29, averaged a career-high 17.9 points per game last season. He shot 43.5 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from long-range.
The Lakers also reached an agreement on a two-year, $18 million contract with power forward Jordan Hill on Friday.
Free agent forward Jordan Hill has agreed to a two-year, $18M deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, agent Kevin Bradbury tells Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 11, 2014
The 26-year-old Hill was a solid role player for the Lakers last season, averaging 9.7 points and 7.4 rebounds while only playing 21 minutes per game. He also shot a remarkable 54.9 percent from the field, and proved his value as a defender. It still comes, however, as a mild surprise that they would be willing to give the big man $9 million per season.
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Main Photo via USA Today Sports
