Sixers acquire Sam Young from Memphis
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Sixers acquire Sam Young from Memphis
Bob Cooney
UPDATED: The Sixers have confirmed the trade. "We feel Sam's overall skill set can be a valuable asset to our team and he adds to our depth at two positions,” Sixers president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said in a statement.
From EARLIER:
With Evan Turner now in the starting lineup the backcourt reserves for 76ers coach Doug Collins became painfully small, with Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks manning most of the minutes.
So the Sixers decided to do something about that and acquired guard/forward Sam Young from the Memphis Grizzlies today, the Daily News has learned.
The Sixers have given up the rights to guard Ricky Sanchez, who was acquired in a 2007 trade with Denver. Sanchez was originally drafted in the second round by Portland in 2005. The Sixers acquired Sanchez’s rights from Denver, along with Reggie Evans, in exchange for Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones.
The NBA trade deadline is at 3 p.m. today.
Young was the 36th overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Grizzlies after being named first-team all Big East his senior season at Pittsburgh when he posted a single-season school record of 609 points (19.1 a game).
The 6-6, 220-pounder will come off the bench for Collins and provide a defensive physical presence on the defensive end and a pretty good scoring touch offensively. Young has averaged 6.9 points in his three seasons with Memphis during his 17.5 minutes per game.
During the Grizzlies’ 13-game playoff run last season, Young started 11 of those games averaging 7.5 points in close to 20 minutes of action.
Young is in the final year of a 3-year deal that pays him $947,000 this season. He will be a restricted free agent.
The move adds yet another look for the Sixers, who have had a sort of facelift since the All-Star break. Turner started his fifth straight game in Wednesday’s 111-94 loss to the Indiana Pacers, a spot Collins said he will keep for the rest of the season. Starting center Spencer Hawes returned to the lineup on Wednesday after missing 27 of the previous 29 games due to an Achilles’ strain and now Young should find ample minutes in his reserve role.
Before Wednesday’s game, Collins talked of how his substituting rotation would change now that Hawes is back and Turner is starting. That will now be revamped again with the addition of Young.
The starters will remain the same with Jrue Holiday, Turner, Andre Iguodala, Hawes and Elton Brand. Thaddeus Young and Williams will mostly remain the first subs off the bench, with rookie Nikola Vucevic getting regular minutes subbing for Hawes. How exactly Young will be used probably will depend of defensive matchups, when Collins will need a tough defender to help his second unit.
Coming out of Pittsburgh, the scouting report on Young was that he was an adequate offensive player with an improved shot, though not very fluid at the offensive end. Due to his size, strength and expansive wing span, he was labeled as a potential lockdown defender.
This is the second deal the Sixers have made with Memphis this season. Back on Jan, 4, the Sixers traded forward Marreese Speights to the Grizzlies for a pair of second-round picks.
Look out Miami, Chicago, Orlando...!!!— 25years/100seasonsandcounting- The Sixers have firmly positioned themselves to get low draft picks and never contend for a title. Sweet. — JonKap
- hard to figure out what your handle means. you can't possibly be referring to a philadelphia championship drought because unless you are dumber than you appear (quite possible), that ended in 2008. because the phrase "and counting" refers to something that is still going on. can you be dumber than you appear? or maybe you haven't been able to figure out how to update your handle. or just too lazy. either way, it's quite an impression you're leaving to go along with moronic comments.
- another 6 ft 6 guy...we have 5 of them all ready...I guess Thorn was bored and threw a few darts to make this trade...same old. same old...— lewisbratspis
- Good Move. Another Chess Piece for Collins to use.
— dmanphilly - Agreed, a freak athlete who may be a fit for what the Sixers want to do defensively...Totally blocked in Memphis, and over past health concerns... — bearsfriend
- I like that. I really like that. Sam will defend and compete without the ball. I like that. Welcome to Philly Sam Young. George Lynch type.— combocancer1975
- Good move! Think George Lynch...— CosmoK
- NBA Championship -- here we come!— Melvin Finkelstein
- This has blockbuster written all over it.— kjuggs77
- No stopping the Sixers now that we've acquired Sam Young! Those six points a game are gonna put us over the top and easily make us favorites to go the Finals.— stockdalec12243
- They Might as well just end the season and Hand us the trophy now!!!!!— cuso20
- I realize this isn't a HUGE deal, but I like Sam Young as a player. I watched him a lot in college and he was a very good defensive player. He is an athletic freak (dunk highlight real at times) who had a nice smooth shooting touch. He also possesses one of the best shot fakes I have ever seen (where he jumps up on one tiptoe and defenders always go for it). He fits in nicely with this team - I think fans will like his defensive abilities and athletic freakishness. He is definately a bigger guard that Thorn wanted.— Dish
- A big nothing deal.— wes
- Hey, it fills a need without breaking the bank or doing something stupid, so I'm ok with it.— mjc1
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
