Lakers guard Nick Young declines player option, will become a free agent

Lakers guard Nick Young declined his player option Wednesday, ensuring he will become a free agent.

Young had been leaning toward declining the option for several weeks, but made it official at the deadline for making the decision. He was set to earn $5.7 million next season, and frees up that much salary cap space for the Lakers.

“Pretty much just what teams are out there that could use a player like me,” Young said in April, when asked what would go into his decision. “What’s going on here. Pretty much you know you got the young guys. It’s going to be a more younger team next year.

“I’ll be more of a vet here, but at my age I don’t know if I kind of want to sit around and wait for another team to progress and grow. Kind of want to be on a playoff team and see what happens.”

Though it’s possible the Lakers could sign him in free agency, that is unlikely.

That means the Lakers will enter next season without either player who started in their backcourt to begin last year. They traded point guard D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. Timofey Mozgov, who started last season at center, was also traded to the Nets, who gave the Lakers the 27th overall pick and center Brook Lopez.

Young began the season as the Lakers’ starting shooting guard, but he finished it on the bench. He made 43% of his field goals and 40% of his three-point shots. Young was on pace to break the team’s record for three pointers in a season, but he played (and started) in only 60 games.

Young was signed as a free agent by the Lakers in 2013. He had a resurgence under coach Luke Walton last season, after starting in only 11 games during the previous three years. In his time with the Lakers, he averaged 13.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 24.5 minutes a game.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

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