Indiana Pacers: Does Joe Young Fit in their Future Plans?
By Kyle Nishida
People think the Indiana Pacers will take a point guard in the 2016 NBA Draft. While point guard is a concern for the team, people should not forget about Joe Young, who the Pacers took 43rd overall in 2015.
The now 23-year-old point guard started his collegiate career at the University of Houston before transferring to the University of Oregon his junior year. He averaged 20.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in his final season with the Ducks.
He instantly grabbed the Pacers’ attention during the rookie summer league. Young led the Orlando Summer League in scoring averaging with 22.5 points while shooting 51% from the field and 45% from deep.
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Clearly, the Orlando Summer League and the NBA are two different levels of competition. However, the fact Young dominated during the summer league shows he has some NBA potential. He also displayed some flashes of good work in limited time last season.
Although Young played sparingly during the season, he got a decent amount of playing time when George Hill missed a handful of games in January. During that stretch, Young had two nice games. He posted 15 points and seven assists against the Denver Nuggets and also posted 16 points and eight assists against the Golden State Warriors.
Obviously, these are only two performances in an 82-game season, but Young showed he could be an effective player under the right circumstances. This is why the Pacers have not dismissed Young as a solution to their point guard problem. Last year, he did not play under the right circumstances.
In college, Young was a score-first type of point guard that played in an up-tempo offense. Meanwhile, former Pacers’ head coach Frank Vogel stressed defense and used a post-isolation offense, which was a slow offense. Young’s playing style did not fit want Vogel wanted.
Now, Young has better chance of succeeding because the Pacers want to implement a fast-paced offensive scheme. Knowing Young is better in an up-temp system, head coach Nate McMillan is taking a close look at Young this offseason.
According to the Indianapolis Star, McMillan has been scheduling offseason workouts specifically for Young, Myles Turner, Rakeem Christmas and Glenn Robinson III. It is evident McMillan has an idea of how he wants to use Young, but only time will tell what Young’s potential role will be.
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Understandably, people are projecting point guards Wade Baldwin IV and Tyler Ulis as possible first round picks by the Indiana Pacers. However, it would not be surprising to see the Pacers address a different position; with Joe Young being part of the reason why. Young has potential, and the Pacers seem willing to let him earn good minutes in the 2016-17 season.