Nick Young:
If you haven’t noticed there is some sort of pattern here. The OKC Thunder are in desperate need of some beyond the arc scoring, and with the youthfulness of the team, could use a little experience as well. Young could be a great piece to fit those needs.
Nick Young has a great feel for creating his own shot, and being a catch-and-shoot specialist. Of his 421 attempts beyond the arc, he connected on 40.4 percent of them. This is the second best percentage of his career, and the most threes taken in a season by a long haul.
Though he is not the best defender, Young would be a great player coming into the second unit in Oklahoma City. While in game five of the playoffs, Westbrook saw six total minutes of bench time. In those six minutes, the OKC Thunder was outscored 27-9. Young could give a scoring boost to a bench that mostly relies on Kanter putting in shots at the rim.
Russell Westbrook was off the floor for 6 minutes in Game 5.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 26, 2017
In those 6 minutes, the Rockets outscored the Thunder 27-9. pic.twitter.com/AicL24JgEd
Money Management
Another great part of Young is his salary. This year he is only making $5.5 million which is considerably low in the NBA era of monstrous paychecks. Though he might be able to squeeze out a few more pennies, his inability to play consistent defense limits his pay grade.
There could be a situation where Terrance Ferguson was brought in to replace Roberson. With almost the exact same figure, both are 6’7″ with eagle like wingspans. If this is the case, and the Thunder play Ferguson along side the starters, Nick Young would add a huge boost to the bench.