I’d assume

Second, the Clippers have Eric Gordon. He’s 100 times better than Young.

Third, as previously mentioned, the Clippers have no other PG on the roster other than Davis and Telfair.

Fourth, the Clippers have scoring, with Davis, Gordon, a healthy Blake Griffin and Kaman.

It makes little sense for the Clippers to give up Telfair.

We saw in Preseason that Nick had the same shortcomings as last year…. So-defense (although I think everyone can agree that he’s at least trying harder on defense); no rebounding; no assists.

He did seem to make the adjustments to his game to become a better shooter coming off screens – not dribbling the ball so much – and getting his shots within the confines of the Offense….

But with better and more consistent options available (Foye, Miller, Stevenson), it’s apparent to even me that Young is not in the regular rotation; and quite possibly not even in the top 10…

I really don’t see how he can improve his court vision and get more assists…. and although he’s got the height and jumping ability, I don’t see him as ever becoming a good rebounder… That leaves defense… I still believe he can be an elite defender. Especially against the taller Shooting Guards in the East (and there are a LOT of them)..

Unfortunately, he had his chance this Summer – and it appears he worked a lot on his Offensive game (coming off screens, catch-and-shoot, etc….) – but he looks like the same below-average defender as last year. My guess is that he will be packaged in a trade with James (and perhaps McGee or McGuire) at the Deadline.

And then, depending on the team he goes to, we could see him as an explosive “microwave” type bench guy. But unless he learns to play better defense, he’ll never be a starting SG in this League.

I respect Flip’s opinion more than I respect Eddie’s. Eddie does not have a track record of developing any young talent, so I would have taken such a quote from him with a grain of salt. Eddie also did not devote that much time to Nick, making it clear that Nick would have to earn Eddie’s attention/favor.

Flip, on the other hand, is a much more accomplished coach with a track record of developing young talent from his Minnesota days. He made a genuine effort to work with Nick this off-season and try to integrate him into this team, where I do not doubt that he has the talent to contribute. But Nick’s effort, attitude, and work ethic obviously do not match his talent so far.

Plus, Eddie said those things during Nick’s rookie and sophomore seasons. Nick is now in his third season, so his progression is expected to be further along.

I can’t speak for everybody, but since I was the first one here to call Nick Young a bust, I’ll assume you were referring to me.

A coach has a number of good veteran players at the same position as a guy starting his third year in the league, and the coach doesn’t play him in one game and instead tells him what weaknesses he needs to work on.

That’s nice spin, but Flip could have easily just said, “Nick’s just a victim of our depth at the guard position. He’ll get his chances to prove himself, he just needs to focus on improving certain aspects of his game.” That’s how a coach explains a decision without stirring up controversy. Instead, he basically said that Nick doesn’t listen to the coaches, breaks the offense, and makes everybody else on the team look bad. Flip had to know that he would grab media attention with his choice of words, he’s too experienced of a head coach to not understand the ramifications of what he was saying. He was clearly sending a message to Nick Young publicly. One can only assume that this was because his private messages were not getting through. I don’t think it’s an overreaction to say that.

Is there no patience in Washington that will allow players time to grow and improve?

On the contrary, Wizards fans are endlessly patient. We gave Kwame years to prove himself and there were still many fans who wished we were more patient with him when he finally got traded. We’ve been patient with Andray, despite gripes about his inconsistency. We kept giving Pecherov the benefit of the doubt, even when it was clear he wasn’t improving his game. And we’ve all been waiting for Nick Young, giving him the benefit of the doubt (myself included) despite his inconsistent play.

Sometimes, you just have to be realistic about a guy. He’s a mid-1st round draft pick entering his 3rd NBA season, and his game hasn’t gotten noticeably any better. At this point in his career, he has failed to live up to his expectations. That, by my definition, makes him a bust.

I don’t look at this as being set in stone. I hope Nick Young gets the message that Flip was clearly sending him and rededicates himself to this team and our system, both offensively and defensively. But the odds are now stacked against him. His best opportunity may be on another team.

I took more from Flip’s comments than you did, but I did not take into account Nick’s learning disability when assessing the situation. I suppose it is possible that we need to give him more time to develop than the average player because of it. I do worry, though, that Nick is just as likely to become depressed over Flip’s harsh critique rather than use it as motivation to focus harder on becoming a contributor to this team. And the fact remains that he has not lived up to his expectations yet. Time will tell if he ever will.

If NY doesn’t hit 40 points in a game by next tuesday I say we trade him. We just can’t afford to wait more than a week into the season to make a judgment.

I wish we could have traded him at halftime. Lazy GM.