The Lakers’ most charismatic player just entered the revolving door inside their trainer’s room, putting a damper both on Nick Young’s boyish enthusiasm and an end to his prolific scoring.
An MRI taken on Thursday shows Young has a non-displaced fracture and bone bruise in his left knee, keeping him sidelined for at least the next two weeks. To offset their depleting roster, the Lakers re-signed Shawne Williams to a 10-day contract after averaging 5.4 pts and 4.5 rebs for the Lakers in 32 games before being waived.
Williams plans to fly to Philadelphia tonight to join the Lakers for their game Friday against the Sixers at Wells Fargo Center. Young will stay and travel with the team back to Los Angeles Saturday following a three-game trip.
According to the Lakers’ timetable, Young will miss at least the next six games, including Philadelphia (Friday) and a homestand against Chicago (Sunday), Utah (Tuesday), Oklahoma City (Thursday), Houston (Feb. 19) and Boston (Feb. 21). The Lakers will then reevaluate him at that time.
Young twisted his left knee in the Lakers’ 119-108 win Wednesday in Cleveland guard C.J. Miles wrapped him up on a fast-break with 2:16 remaining in the second quarter. Young left the game shortly afterwards.
Young has remained one of the few bright spots for the Lakers, averaging 15.2 points in 28.4 minutes and occasionally providing defense. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni has strong affection for Williams because of his floor spacing, positive attitude and relationship stemmed from a previous stint with the New York Knicks. But Williams shot only 37.7 percent from the field.
Young’s injury just represents a string of many the Lakers have suffered this season. Kobe Bryant (fractured left knee) and Pau Gasol (strained right groin) are expected to be out for at least two more weeks. Jodie Meeks will sit out Friday against Philadelphia because of a sprained right ankle. Jordan Hill recently nursed a neck strain. The Lakers’ flurry of point guards in Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar returned this week after missing significant chunks of the season.
Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com