Philadelphia 76ers: Bring back the Prophet of Swag, Nick Young

With Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova set to become free agents, the Philadelphia 76ers could look to their old friend Nick Young for some bench shooting.

Though one Young may be off the market after picking up his player option to remain a member of the Indiana Pacers (more on that here) if the Philadelphia 76ers want to add some auxiliary perimeter shooting and a little swag to their roster moving forward, they should strongly consider bringing back another former fixture of their starting five: Nick Young.

That’s right, though it may seem like a distant memory now, the Prophet of Swag was once a member of the Sixers from 2012-2013 and actually played some pretty good basketball over his 59 game tenure in South Philly.

While he’s from a complete offensive weapon or a lockdown defender, Swaggy P has remained one of the more consistent 3-point shooting threats in the league over his 11 year tenure in the NBA, and has continued to deliver highlight reel performances even as he’s transitioned in and out of various starting five over the last decade.

Oh yeah, and he also just so happens to be a newly minted NBA champion.

After toiling away on an incredibly bad Los Angeles Lakers squad from 2013-2017, Young decided to take his talents to Golden State, signing a one-year, $5.2 million deal to take his shot at adding world champion to his long list of accolades.

Spoiler alert, it worked.

Though most of his stats took a dive while playing alongside some of the best players in the league like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant, Young still provided a consistent scoring option off the bench for the world champs, averaging 7.3 points per game while knocking down 37 percent of his 3-point shots.

A skill that any team in the NBA could use a little more of.

While much of his recent on-court success has been overshadowed by some off-the-court issues, like his fiery relationship with then-girlfriend Iggy Azalea, jokes about cocaine and the now-infamous snitching incident where Joel Embiid‘s high school teammate D’Angelo Russell filmed a candid conversation in the locker room between the two former teammates, Young has remained a consistent professional shooter into his 30s, and could be provide an offensive boon for the 76ers as they searched for additional shooting help off the bench.

Next: Report: Philly is no superstar free agent’s first choice

And hey, for better or for worse, Swaggy P would certainly add some additional flair and championship experience to the Philadelphia 76ers squad hungry for postseason success in 2018.