Thaddeus Young's future
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Thaddeus Young's future
We're getting closer to the first draft workout at PCOM, the 76ers' practice facility. Look for that first workout to be somewhere around June 1, three weeks before the 2011 NBA Draft that's scheduled to be held June 23. We've covered the draft prospects ad naseum on this blog. If you want to read about some of the power forwards/centers that the Sixers could be looking to snag with the No. 16 pick, you can find that here: Sizing it up. If you just can't get enough and you want to read about the pre-Chicago combine assessment of the bigs in the draft, that's here: big men. If you want to read about the fringe possibility of drafting a shooting guard, you can find that information here: shooting guards. And if you still want to read more, you can get updates on three Sixers through earlier posts: guard-forward Evan Turner, center Spencer Hawes, and big man Craig Brackins.
This is kind of a quiet week for NBA news, unless your team is still playing. The Sixers' brass of president Rod Thorn, general manager Ed Stefanski, assistants Tony DiLeo and Courtney Witte, and coach Doug Collins are more than likely assessing the potential draft picks they watched and interviewed in Chicago, while Stefanski went on to evaluate talent at a smaller combine in Minnesota. In the next weeks, they'll put together a draft board, ranking available players.
Since we've targeted this off season as crucial to bumping this team from 41 wins to 50 wins, we've been trying to address some of the non-draft issues this team will face in the coming months. Per a few email requests (please send any questions you might want addressed to kfagan@phillynews.com), today's topic is forward Thaddeus Young. The questions on Young were two-fold: will he return to the Sixers next year and does he have a chance to become this team's starting small forward?
Here's the background info on Young's situation. He's entering his fifth season in the NBA. Earlier in the 2010-11 season, the Sixers did not offer him a contract extension, so on July 1 he becomes a restricted free agent. The Sixers will qualify him, meaning they have the opportunity to match any offer made, with the pre-arranged $4.0 million qualifying offer as stipulated in the NBA's rookie contract system. On July 1, obviously under the assumption the lockout situation gets worked out, which is clearly a major assumption, other teams can sign Young to an offer sheet. The Sixers will have the opportunity to match any offer. For example, if on July 5 (randomly chosen date), the New Orleans Hornets (randomly chosen team) sign Young to an offer sheet of 5 years, $35 million (seriously randomly chosen numbers), the Sixers would have seven days to match the offer. If no other team signs Young to an offer sheet, he will play the 2011-12 season with the Sixers for the $4 million qualifying offer and then after that season he would become an unrestricted free agent. (Yes, the NBA is complicated.)
Here's the background on Young's numbers with the Sixers: 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds his rookie season, 15.3 and 5.0 his sophomore season, 13.8 and 5.2 his third season, and 12.7 and 5.3 during this most recent season with Collins.
OK, so those are the numbers.
I would put the likelihood that Young returns to the Sixers at 92 percent. (Let's not get carried away with that number, it's an educated guess from having conversations about the situation -- and it's fun to put a number on the accumulated knowledge of these conversations.) There is no way for me to overstate the quality of the relationship between Collins and Young. Collins considers Young one of the most impressive guys (character, listening ability, responsiveness, game, personality) he's coached. And Young respects Collins and enjoys playing for him. I'd go so far as to say Young believes in what Collins can do with this franchise and, more specifically, what Collins can do for Young's game. Young wants to return to the Sixers. And the franchise, by all accounts, plans on matching any reasonable offer sheet. No one knows what's going to happen with the next CBA, and how that will change things, but if another team signs Young to a fair offer sheet, the Sixers will match. The only reason Young wouldn't return is if a team signs Young to an insanely above-market-value offer sheet. The Sixers, within a broad range of contract offers, plan to bring back Thaddeus Young.
As for the second question received (can Young become this team's starting small forward?), here's the lay of the land. If Andre Iguodala remains a Sixer over the summer, he will rightfully be this team's starting small forward. If Iguodala is traded over the summer, the Sixers will enter training camp with an open starting spot at small forward. As we've said in previous posts (check out the hot link to "Evan Turner"), it's possible that the team and Turner himself could be looking at him returning next fall as a potential small forward. If the position is open, Turner and Young would enter training camp as potential options for starting small forward. Collins and Young, as we mentioned multiple times toward the end of the season, have had conversations about Young's potential to become an all-star. Collins has told Young that if he develops a consistent 15-foot jumper and can consistently make a corner three-pointer, he can become an NBA All-Star. If Young can force defenders to respect his mid-range jumper, something defenders don't totally do right now, then Young could be a 20-points-per-game scorer. And if he doesn't become a starter, he'd be a front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year.
It seems the only question with Young's potential as a starter is his lack of a definitive position. We're talking about him right now as a small forward, but he's proven effective as a backup power forward. It might make more sense for Collins and the Sixers to use him as the backup small and backup power forward and drop him 32 minutes a game (he played 26.1 minutes a game this season). As with many questions facing the Sixers, all of this depends on what kind of game Turner shows up with this fall, what kind of jumper Young shows up with, and what kind of moves the team makes to free up opportunities for each or both.
But one thing is certain: the Sixers aim to bring back Young.
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--Kate
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
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i did not say collison could not play.. i said not enough value for iguodala. you think you are screaming for iguodala to be traded. trade him for collison and watch iguodala push them into the finals. collison and harden for dre THATS UNDERVALUING YOUR ASSETS!!! we must get a big in return for iguodala. and the big has to be THE CENTERPIECE OF THE RETURN! not some trash throw in. denver or the clippers are the only teams i would trade dre with.. maybe tayshawn and daye. NO ONE ELSE!— combocancer1975- Combo your not going to get value for Iguodala. You have to be realistic. Two good serviceable bench player is the most you can hope to get. If Kama was younger and didn't have and injury history I don't think that scenario would be possible either. I can't see them moving Harden. I never even like Harden. I'm slowly becoming a believer, Harden will e a top 5 SG in this league in a couple of years.
- incog69, I believe your interpretation of Thad's 3pt attempts is correct. Collins wanted him to attack the basket and not settle for jumpers. Collins also wanted him to be more active around the rim. However, the last 2 seasons the NBA avg for 3pt fg% was 35%-36% which means even if you throw out last year Thad is a below average 3 pt shooter. The only Sixers with above avg career #'s are Kapono - 42% (only 36% w/us), Holiday - 38%, Meeks - 38% and Nociono -37%. Kapono and Nocioni are non-factors, which means we have 2 guys in our regular rotation who are above avg 3 pt shooters. That's why a center is priority #1 but developing a shooter should be priority #2. I don't care if that shooter is someone already on the roster who improves, a rookie or a free agent but having one would make life easier for EB and our slashers.
OK, I'm done my rant, gotta go enjoy that Mt. Airy sunshine
— mtairy1 - @combo: Harden is better than Iguodala... I'm pretty sure his outstanding play against the Mavs has made that clear. He is in the shadow of someone else who is in the shadow of someone and he still looked great. Giving us Collison to boot would be highway robbery. Both of those guys are better than Tayshawn by the way (and much better than JR Smith too).
@mtairy: Young and Iguodala are slightly below average three point shooters, but they can do other things in the offense. In fact, three point shooting is their worst aspect (ok, FT shooting too), but they are still good offensive players. And they are good enough from distance to demand respect. Jury is out on Turner, but I think he will be the best offensive player on the team next season or the season after. When that happens, the Sixers will be near the top of the league.— incog69 - LOL@ hello from Mt.Airy. Can West Oak get a shout out in this?
Anyway, appreciate the stats incog & mtairy.
combo if we trade dre, i would not do it for ya boy, Christopher always hurt caveman unless you're willing to take a step back this upcoming season and have plenty of cash the following season.
if i was to trade dre to the clips, it's for De Jordan but that's unrealistic, the clippers are not going to give him up.
If the thunder wanted iggy, i'd pull the trigger on it for Harden, collison and the thunder's pick. I know no 1 knows the draft order 4sure but lets say the order is correct, according to draft.net OKC is projected to take the kid faried who is a rebounding monster. We don't need him to play PF, at 6"6 he can be thad's back up since thad would start at SF. You get a bonfide lights out shooter in harden and collison is reliable if you haven't been watching the playoffs. Plus you still have your 2 original picks!! you could always ship collison somewhere else as an option to free up cash— Mack of the Pack - IF THE STIFF HAS HIS WAY,YOUNG IS A GONER...FIRE THE STIFF.NOW..................FIRE STIFFANSKI NOW........!!!!
— t_darb_56 - You are entitled.. My belief. Championships are won by big men. Not guards. That OKC trade leaves brand in the middle w/o help. I'll take the caveman or Gallinari as the centerpiece for dre. Hardens a good player. Replace collison with ibaka you gotta deal. But. The numbers don't match. Collison with 5 years left at an UNBELIEVABLE 13 or so mil or an expiring 7' kaman HIGHLY skilled has chemistry with brand. Probably will resign for less. Give me kaman. And he's not a step back. You must make Miami pay at the 5. Harden won't make a difference v Miami. It's not about iguodala or harden. It's about sixers v heat. WE CAN'T EXPLOIT Z! That's a problem. Will harden exploit wade enough to WIN THE SERIES! No. Kaman will dominate z. If we win 1 with Spencer. Kaman pushes it to 7. J.r. Smith could win it. Package Lou for harden. Iguodala MUST BRING A CENTER! Not a guard.. Come on man... Stop it. We are getting smaller and bringing in another guard that NEEDS PLAYING TIME. Give me smith and kaman. And Jason smith with the mle. And donnatas or fareid at 16.— combocancer1975
- There are other ways to get a center. When mentioning Kaman, I understand you value the contract more than the player, I get it...... It makes sense when you think about the other factors. Moving Iguodala give Thad and Turner more time. Plus 2 years less than Iguodala.
- I like Kaman's game; if the Sixers can get him for maybe Lou, #16 and some bench guys (Noc, Sp8ts) then I'm all 4 it. Giving up Iguodala might be worth it too, but Kaman is a bit of a risk health wise. At 16, I like the big guy from USC (Nikola Vucevic). He could be a good back up center and we wouldn't have to give up anything. That means not giving up on Sp8ts, who might actually still have a decent career ahead of him. Trading Iguodala for Harden does not adress any of the Sixers current problems. From a positional point of view, it is a lateral move. Overall, it is a slight upgrade (Harden is only 21).— incog69
- I'd be shocked if Donatas is available at 16- if he is, that's a no brainer.
Against Miami, the Sixers exploited Z by going to the hole. It wasn't center vs center, but we definitely took advantage of his inability to guard the paint. The problems started when they bought in Joel Anthony. Z will not have much of a role in Miami next season.
Is Danilo Gallinari a center? I thought he was a SF. Shoots a lot of threes. Allergic to paint..
Getting Jason Smith back with the mid-level exception would be nice. Trading him away still puzzles me to this day. We got nothing in return (please prove me wrong, Mr. Brackins :)— incog69 - That was stupid. Smith was a high energy player. I think he would have help with the poor rebounding.
- Combo, you're thinking of the kaman of years past, let it go.. it'll be 4 yrs since he played with brand. not sure how much chemistry is let, and that's a law of physics my friend. In our wildest dreams would OKC give up Ibanka, i think they'd trade us westbrook for a reliable PG before they do that.
Galli is a SF, he's just tall. i wouldn't mind having him either but he'd have to back up thad but i highly doubt denver is just going to hand over nene or bird man who is their best rebounder for iggy. mozgoz is serviceable but no one to be afraid of.
I'm not worried about Z next season, he'll be lucky if he's on the heat's audience. After they get the ultimate assist from their fourth star(the refs) and possibly beat dallas, he'll retire with a ring.
— Mack of the Pack - Here's the dumb stat of the day. Per 36 minutes Speights would be a beast. 17 points 9 boards and 1.3 blocks...... This stat line is meaningless, I know it just bothers me that we have young talent on our bench that can't seem to contribute in a significant way.
- BigVil, the problem is during those same 36 mins Speights would give up 25 pts and 15 boards. His lack of on the ball defense, failure to box out & horrible defensive rotations landed him in Dougie's dog house.
Mack, thanks for pointing out to folks tha OKC will not give us good players for Iggy. They don't need Iggy they have Kevin Durant at SF
incog69, I hope you're right about Turner developing into the best offensive player. I haven't seen any indication of that but anything's possible.
Combocancer, Gallinari is a SF— mtairy1
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
