Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott has revealed that he doesn’t expect Nick Young to return to the court before the end of this season due to a knee injury.
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The Lakers have seven games remaining in the regular season and they are likely to see their second consecutive worst season in franchise history come to an end in unspectacular fashion.
While Jordan Clarkson continues to give the fans hope after impressing through March to land the Rookie of the Month award in the Western Conference, it doesn’t appear as though he will be joined by his teammate any time soon.
Young has been out with a knee injury since late February and has missed the last 20 games as a result, and Scott doesn’t anticipate him being healthy enough to return this year.
“I haven’t even even talked to (head athletic trainer) Gary (Vitti), to be honest with you,” Scott said, Lakers.com reported.
“My feeling really is that, with seven games left, he probably won’t play the rest of the season. Like I said, the last report that I did get on him — which was when we were on the road — was that he really wasn’t making much progress.”
“Being out as long as he’s been out with seven games to go, I don’t really see how he can probably play. He’s got to get back into game condition and things like that. So I don’t think there’s a chance he’s going to play in the next week.”
Scott also delivered a warning to his star guard and insisted that he needs to grow as a player next season and add different attributes to his game to go along with his ability to score.
With the Lakers looking to rebuild this summer in both free agency and by using their high Draft pick, they will be desperate to return to competing for at least a playoff spot in Kobe Bryant’s final year with the team.
Young has been a spark off the bench on occasion, but it is clear that his coach is looking for much more from him and believes that there is significant talent within him that hasn’t been tapped into yet.
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