Sixers acquire Sam Young from Memphis
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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.
Sam Young's minutes better come from the expense of Meeks not Iggy, ET, Jrue, Thad or Lou.— Manok- Nice pickup. Solid 4 yr guy at Pitt. Defends, maybe not as well as George Lynch but better offensively, and played well in Memphis when he got mts.— tudorcity
- if you thought Turner was getting a quick hook, wait until you have Javale McGee on the wrong end of the floor. This move is for this year only and there's no potential harm. Let's see if he fits.— phils_tnj1
- This gives them a second unit of Vucevic, Thad, Lou, Meeks and this Sam Young. I like that they have provided depth and experience without hurting themselves at the bank. This dude is like Reggie Evans but with some offense. Big strong body that likes contact. Solid Pick up for Sixers.— nceagle
- Half of you posting probably don't even follow the NBA, just read articles about the Sixers and form whatever opinion the "experts" tell you to have. In reality, trading a SECOND round pick for Sam Young is a great idea. Young is all heart and hustle, and dont get it twisted, dude can score. He didnt need to score in Memphis. They are chalked full of scorers, so Young adapted his game and was actually pretty valuable at times. Nowhere on this site or on ANY talk show are people saying this will propel us in to Championship contention necessarily. So relax with all the uneducated responses. They added depth, and traded away a pick that will result in a player of less talent than Young.— jevans
- like the move. probably a little knee jerk reaction to last night but still, we needed a defensive presence for our backcourt off the bench and we got it dirt cheap. now trade jodie and the other #2 we got from memphis for a banger to come off the bench and lets see how far it takes us.— 76ers in 2076
- Nick Young!?! Fantastic!!! The guy can light it up!!! This guy really -
Wait, did you say SAM Young?? OOOhhhh ...
Nevermind.— FishFryFrank - We have Nocioni, so I think this move has nothing to do with this year. We forget about the trade for Meeks and how it was really for the following year. I think that they have realized that Turner and Iggy can't play together, and will be moving Iggy in the offseason. I think they also realized that that Thad is too good to not start and does not demand the ball (good for a player like turner). I think Sam is for next year when they expect Thad to start and they need a young bench swingman who can play some minutes as an undersized 4. I also thing that we will draft a big next year, but give Lavoy/Vuc (if we can get a big next year I especially like Vuc at the 4), a shot at the starting 4 next year. I agree that a buy-out of brand is imminent.— theoinpa
- 2 comments on all the JaVale lovers: first and foremost, you are not getting JaVale McGee for a 2nd rounder. You are not getting him for Meeks and Brackins. The Sixers aren't getting him at all, unless they give up a rotation player. Stop dreaming. Second, he is a nutjob and has one of the worst basketball IQs in the league. His destiny is to stink it up on the Wiz with Mr Dougie John Wall for the next 10 years and make 2 out of every 3 alley-oops Wall throws up to him.— le sigh
- Agreed, Meeks and Brackens together gets you at best the 7th man on a team, not a 30+ minute starter. — theoinpa
- Is this a make up deal for us giving them Speights for nothing and seeing Speights play well for them?— ArtieLange
- I also want Javale McGee. He is a complete knucklehead, but he plays on team that is a perennial loser and a rudderless ship. He averages 12pt, 9 boards, and 2.5 blocks per game. But you won't get him for our trash as some of the posters here have suggested.— blaqjaq
- So Javale Mcgee stinks and is a headcase but you have to give alot up to get him? He is a re-stricted free-agent and Washington is all but a lock to get a bigman in the draft so how does it not make sense to acquire a guy who can come off the bench and block shots, who cares about his offense, and DC likes the guy.— Njtod10
- Good pick up! Young will help the "night shift"! Meeks will see even less minutes now.— ChangeISNeeded
- Good pick up! Young will help the "night shift"! Meeks will see even less minutes now.— ChangeISNeeded
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.
