OAKLAND -- Joining the Warriors means Nick Young's alter ego, Swagy P, is history, team president/general manager Bob Myers indicated Friday afternoon.
"We're not calling him Swagy P," Myers said minutes after officially signing the former Lakers guard to a one-year contract for $5.2 million.
"His name is Nick."
Barely 10 minutes later, Young had a reply: Not so fast, Bob.
"Nah, I don't think I could drop that," Young said. "The fans like it. They won't let me. I tried it, and they don't call me Nick any more. I think I'm going to just stick with that. But I'm going to find my way through here. You've got the ‘Splash Bros,' Swagy . . .."
Young invented the nickname several years ago as an expression of his personality, he says. It's a form of self-reference that has become among the most recognizable nicknames in the NBA, if not all of sports.
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"I'm a cool guy," he said. "I don't know. It's just a thing in LA. I was playing around one day and they just ran with it and now it's stuck. My mom is telling me: ‘Don't lose it now. You can't. You've been doing that for four years.' "
So Young's plan is to bring Swagy P with him from Southern California to the Bay Area.
Which might be OK. For now, as the Warriors, including Myers and the coaching staff, have plenty of time to extinguish the alter ego if they deem it necessary.
"I'm not a hard-headed guy, or a troublemaker," Young said. "I just want to be in a winning atmosphere and feel that. Just fit in and be a part of something special. Whatever it takes for me to do that, I'm all for it."
