It didn’t take very long for Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni to demote Nick Young (in favor of Xavier Henry), but the relentlessly positive forward is taking it in stride, and hopes to make the most of his new role. Per the LA Daily News and Lakers Nation: “That’s my man. No bad blood,’ Young said of Henry. ‘What’s the ice skater lady?’ Young was jokingly referred to Tonya Harding, the former U.S. figure skater whose ex-husband conspired to assault competitor Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 U.S Figure Skating Championship. ‘It’s cool. It’ll be all right,’ Young said. ‘It’s too early to try to start some controversy. I’m going with the flow.’ Henry has become one of the Lakers’ most pleasant surprises, averaging 13 points on 40 percent shooting. Meanwhile, Young has averaged 8.3 points on only a 27 percent clip. ‘Xavier is a better defender,’ D’Antoni said. ‘Guys have certain attributes. He doesn’t get his shot as well as Nick, but he gets it. We needed that to start the game off with a mindset. It’s a lot of little factors. It’s early to say this is for sure. But it’s something to try right now.’ Young hardly provided much of an explanation for his shooting struggles other than ‘just missing shots.’ But he said he and D’Antoni talked about his role and remains on board with it.”
Someone brought up 6th man of the Year to Nick Young, all smiles, he said “That’s my goal”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 4, 2013
