Nick Young agrees to deal with defending champion Golden State Warriors

Just a little more than a year removed from telling the world that he hated Golden State Warriors fans, Nick Young has decided to join the Warriors.

Young has agreed to a one-year, $5.2 million contract, his agent Mark Bartelstein told USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick. 

Young became a free agent when he declined the player option in his contract for next season with the Los Angeles Lakers. That deal would have paid him more than $5.6 million.

He said in April he was about 60% sure he would leave the Lakers because he wanted to be part of a playoff team. He certainly got his wish.

Signing guys like Young is one of the reasons Kevin Durant took less money to sign his two-year deal with the Warriors, and he and Draymond Green had been recruiting Young to join them.

Young is a Los Angeles native and realized a childhood dream by joining the Lakers, but the 10-year NBA veteran's tenure has coincided with the worst four-year stretch in the 16-time NBA champions' history.

Then Young struggled on the court during the 2015-16 season and endured upheaval in his personal life because of a video scandal with then-rookie D'Angelo Russell -- that at times took attention away from Kobe Bryant's farewell tour. Young enjoyed a career revival last season under new coach Luke Walton.

Young averaged 13.2 points and 2.3 rebounds with the Lakers last season and a career-high .588 true shooting percentage, hitting 66.5% of his shots from three-point range, making 40.4% of them. 

Young's signing is the latest in a crazy free agency frenzy and a big-spending offseason for the defending champs. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry recently agreed to a record $201 million, five-year contract; NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant agreed to a two-year deal for approximately $53 million; 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala got a three-year contract with $48 million guaranteed; fellow key reserves Shaun Livingston for $24 million and three years, and David West on a one-year contract for the veteran minimum $2.3 million.

Also knowns as "Swaggy P", Young has done his share of trash talk. With the news of his deal, Durant returned the favor, taunting him for celebrating what turned out to be a missed three-pointer.