IF we don't get Deng....

[AtlHomer]

And now you have me thinking about it. I'll gladly take Thaddeus Young over Deng and Ariza, especially considering what the both of them are allegedly asking for. But the more important question is whether the Sixers would be THAT stupid to hand him over?

if John Salmons is a part of a trade to acquire either Greg Monroe or Thad Young, I think a LOT of Hawks fans will be happy.

[Eddielives]

Another thing is that he is a young vet... He has been in the league quite a while now and he is still only 26.

Is this positivity I see from Hotsy?  Must be a good day.  Anyway, goes to show that I am not following the market too closely.  I didn't even know Thad Young was possibly available.  He would be a great addition. 

[frosgrim]

if John Salmons is a part of a trade to acquire either Greg Monroe or Thad Young, I think a LOT of Hawks fans will be happy.

Exactly. Monday fellas, Monday...

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

 

A few weeks ago, it was reported by Liberty Ballers’ Jake Fischer that Thaddeus Young had privately requested a trade from the Sixers. Even though Young publicly denied the report, now seems like a logical time for the Sixers and their longest-tenured player to part ways. 

 

Well, at least for Young it does. Currently in his seventh year, the 25-year-old has been nothing but dependable for the Sixers. While Young’s contributions remain consistent, the team’s front office has been unable to assemble anything close to a contender with him in the fold. 

 

After the disastrous Andrew Bynum trade, new general manager Sam Hinkie decided to hit the proverbial reset button and rebuild the team from scratch (with the exception of Young, Evan Turner, and Spencer Hawes). Whether or not Young asked to be traded, it’s understandable if he doesn’t have the type of patience to see that process through, especially now entering his prime years as a basketball player. 

 

The Sixers’ theoretical motivation for shopping Young is murkier. He’s under team control for at least another year at a reasonable salary. Also, Young’s professionalism, evidenced by the ridiculous line (27.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.5 SPG) he slapped together in the first four games since the report, is something that could make a positive impact on Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel. 

 

Basically, Young is really good and tends to be underappreciated both locally and especially nationally. One of the major reasons that contenders should be interested in acquiring him is that Young doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be a successful offensive player. 

 

Unlike Evan Turner, another potential trade chip, Young is comfortable playing an off-ball role. During Doug Collins’ tenure as head coach, the Sixers hardly ever ran any plays for Young, but he was still able to score an efficient 13 points per game (16 when adjusted per-36 minutes) by moving without the ball within the team’s offensive framework. 

 

As basketball fans, we tend to think of deadly shooters that run off screens like Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, and J.J. Redick as great off-ball offensive players. Young’s ability to cause havoc without the basketball is more unique. 

 

Before the season, SB Nation’s Mike Prada did a nice job detailing Young’s ability to move without the ball. Truthfully, most of his baskets during the Collins years don’t need to be diagrammed, because the unpredictability of Young’s cuts is what makes him so effective. Young plays a very instinctual game, reading and reacting to how the defense is playing him and more importantly, his teammates. As an observer, it’s so much fun to watch. 

 

Last season, Young shot 139 of 216 on plays labeled as “Cuts,” per mySynergySports. Part of the reason why his contributions tend to get lost in the shuffle is because he does so much of his damage away from what we are primarily focused on while watching the game, the ball.

 

 

 Take the shot above, for instance. On the play, Carter-Williams made a strong drive and found Young for a layup. While Carter-Williams will get most of the credit for the drive and dish, it’s easy to forget that Young had to find the soft spot in the defense where he could provide Carter-Williams with a passing lane.

 

 

The same is true on this play. Carter-Williams impressively draws three defenders, but Young floated along the baseline to a spot where his rookie point guard could hit him moving toward the hoop. This type of movement often goes unappreciated, and Young is excellent at it. Below are the two plays in real time.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt-9eNPHi7k&feature=player_embedded

 

This year, working with better spacing and more structure in Brett Brown’s offense, Young has parlayed his general cutting ability into more success out of the pick-and-roll. He is scoring a whopping 1.23 points per possession this season in these situations, per Synergy.

 

 

 When Young’s defender threatens to “show” or defend the pick-and-roll aggressively, like Shawne Williams does during the critical late-game possession shown above, Young is going to automatically dive to the open space. It’s a decision that he can’t be a split second early or late making, and he usually isn’t.

 

 

Once he receives the ball in open space, he’s adept at either driving all the way to the rim or taking one dribble and putting up a quirky floater, as he eventually does in the play above. Here is that play in real time, as well as a few more examples of Young’s versatility as a pick-and-roll big.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q6DBJOV0vk&feature=player_embedded

 

Before this year, Young’s major weakness was an inability to shoot from the outside. Under Collins’ mandate, he eschewed the long ball, only attempting 34 three-pointers over three seasons. While the “no threes” directive was intended to focus Young on attacking the basket, he still attempted about three 16-23 footers per game during that span, only making around 37 percent of them.

 

This season, Young has already launched 66 threes, adding another weapon to his already impressive arsenal. Even better, he’s making 41 percent of them. For a player that has always worked so well in tight spaces, being able to utilize the three-point line (and really, the whole floor) makes life that much easier.

 

 

 

Take a look at the two shots above. Just like when Young is hanging around the rim, he’s reading how his defender, Glen Davis, reacts to the Carter-Williams drive. As Davis crashes hard toward the paint, Young floats out to the three-point line. This is far easier work for Young than trying to get free in traffic under the basket.

 

 

Also, Young is a skilled individual offensive player. If someone closes out hard on the three-point shot, he has no problem putting the ball on the floor and making a play with his quickness. For that very reason, defenders could be reticent to aggressively challenge Young’s three-pointers as he continues to fire them.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm_0TeLr4oU&feature=player_embedded

 

Sam Hinkie isn’t going to give Thaddeus Young away for free. While I think the term “Hinkie-type player” has been a bit overblown (Young is everybody’s type of player), Hinkie is the one general manager that currently holds his rights.

When taking Young’s off-ball offense and strong rotational defense (tougher to focus on this year with defense seemingly not a priority) into account, Hinkie will get good value if he decides to trade him. If not, Thaddeus Young is still a Sixer. That’s not such a bad thing, is it?

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/sixers/Thad-Youngs-value-to-76ers-on-film.html#WelhJfMMrWjyrkTT.99

 

Thad is a PF, not a SF.  Thad is to SF what Lou is to PG.

[Admin]

Thad is a PF, not a SF. Thad is to SF what Lou is to PG.

Don't think anyone can say that with certainty. Is that because of his circumstances in Philly needing him at PF or because he couldn't play SF?

[GameTime]

Don't think anyone can say that with certainty. Is that because of his circumstances in Philly needing him at PF or because he couldn't play SF?

 

Because he can't shoot and has bad handles mostly. He can play spot time at SF but he shouldn't be our main option. I think he has a ton of potential at PF if he doesn't chuck 3's like he did this year. It was Smooveesque.

[Admin]

Because he can't shoot and has bad handles mostly. He can play spot time at SF but he shouldn't be our main option. I think he has a ton of potential at PF if he doesn't chuck 3's like he did this year. It was Smooveesque.

Yikes I take it back I had no idea his 3ball shooting was so bad. I guess I remember him as that 35% shooter when he was a youngster.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

If ya read the part in red, it says that Collins try to prevent him from shooting three's, but was still attempting 3 16-23 footers per game because he isn't a strong dribbler. That's so reminiscent of Smoove. Thad is a PF because can't make anything outside of 12 ft on a consistent basis. Thad is best off of PnR and second-chance points under the goal. We have that already in Horford, Millsap, and Payne. A big part of being a SF is dribble penetration and the 3-ball. Millsap at 3 > Thad at 3 and Millsap is not a SF. It's either Deng, Ariza, or stick with DMC and try again next year. All Thad is is an easier-to-deal-with J-Smoove.

In short, Thad doesn't fit Bud's system.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest]

Yikes I take it back I had no idea his 3ball shooting was so bad. I guess I remember him as that 35% shooter when he was a youngster.

 

Stand your ground Dolf,  With everybody else it's assumed that Budz can fix their shooting stroke.

[Admin]

Stand your ground Dolf,  With everybody else it's assumed that Budz can fix their shooting stroke.

 

Yeah I dunno I mean he got back up to below average last year but he had several God awful years that should never let him shoot 3's again before that. 

 

I like Young but if he won't stop shooting 3's when he's a bad shooter and told not to then I'm not signing up for Smoove part II. 

[rd79]

Settling for a 36 year old Shawn Marion is low standards.

 

It depends what you want to use him for. 

 

If he comes for reasonable money on a short contract he could be a valuable part and he maybe could be a mentor too.

He still played 31 mins/game in 76 games as a starter last year. He seems to have some fuel left in his tank...

 

And don't forget, this is a "what if we don't get"-thread. Sometimes it's better to wait a year for some player you really want than to overpay just anybody only for signing a mentionable FA you not even really need...

 

And if you want to fill a gap for a year, veterans are always a way to think about.

[GrimeyKidd]

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[bumpyphish1]

Why are we even talking about Thaddeus Young?  He is a TERRIBLE fit for our system.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Why are we even talking about Thaddeus Young?  He is a TERRIBLE fit for our system.

 

Because Hawks' fans only know player's names and not anything about their games.

[Admin]

Because Hawks' fans only know player's names and not anything about their games.

Or maybe we see a guy who fills up the stat sheet, went to school locally and is a young free agent who'd make us better?

Now I will admit I didn't realize his 3pt shot had gone to crap but that doesn't mean he couldn't help us.

[Guest]

I think Thad would be a good fit for us. Even though he's not a great outside shooter he still does a lot of things above average. He gets to the hole at will. He's long, athletic, unselfish, team player, great character. I understand the Spurs system which we adopted now includes a lot of outside shooting, but that doesn't mean every single player needs to be the best shooter coming in. I mean, player development is a Spur staple and Bud will develop whoever he gets as much as he can. I feel Thad is a kid that will listen and continue to improve.

[Plainview1981]

Why are we even talking about Thaddeus Young?  He is a TERRIBLE fit for our system.

 

Because we want talented players that aren't mediocre (most of the wings on this team) or over the hill (Thabo).

 

I'm tired of hearing about this great system. It won 38 games last year. The lowest in 6 or 7 years.

[Spurs]

Because we want talented players that aren't mediocre (most of the wings on this team) or over the hill (Thabo).

 

I'm tired of hearing about this great system. It won 38 games last year. The lowest in 6 or 7 years.

 

You keep repeating that. You lost your best player and took the pacers to 7. What more do you want?

[RWF]

You keep repeating that. You lost your best player and took the pacers to 7. What more do you want?

 

A franchise player like Duncan and the actual hope of contending for titles, not dreaming about them.

[Plainview1981]

You keep repeating that. You lost your best player and took the pacers to 7. What more do you want?

 

I'm just saying we need talent. You can't expect a system and just role players to take you very far. This team is loaded with guards and none of the should be starting other than Teague. This team needs more talent. The team ways also only 3 games over .500 when Horford went down.