Indiana Pacers Acquire Thaddeus Young from Brooklyn Nets
By Kyle Nishida
For the second day in a row, the Indiana Pacers are involved in an offseason trade. After acquiring point guard Jeff Teague Wednesday, the team picked up power forward Thaddeus Young Thursday.
Thursday afternoon, the Pacers agreed to give the 20th pick overall in the 2016 NBA Draft and a future second round pick to the Brooklyn Nets and in exchange, the Nets will send Young to the Pacers.
Yahoo Sports’ and The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news of the trade.
Brooklyn has traded forward Thad Young to the Indiana Pacers for the 20th pick and a future 2nd rounder, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2016
Young is a 10-year NBA pro. However, he is only 28 years old (Birthday was June 21). He entered the NBA as a 19 year old with the Philadelphia 76ers. He has spent the last season and a half on a struggling Nets team.
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With the Nets last season, Young averaged 15.1 points and nine rebounds in 73 games. He shot 52.3 percent from the floor and is usually plays with a high motor.
The only issues with Young are he is not much of a perimeter shooter (shot 23.3 percent from behind the three-point line), and at 6-8, he is undersized at the power forward position.
Ultimately, Young is a proven veteran and starter in the NBA. While he does have limitations, he gives the Indiana Pacers another scoring option in the post.
It is too early to say how this trade will work out for the Indiana Pacers. However, some NBA writers think this trade is a good move for them on paper.
I'm not sure what the overall vision is for the Pacers, but two prime years of Young (player option in Year 3) is good value for No. 20.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 23, 2016
In two days, team President Larry Bird has made significant changes to the roster and specifically, the starting lineup. Ideally, the Indiana Pacers starting lineup is projected to look like this:
PG: Jeff Teague (from Atlanta Hawks)
SG: Monta Ellis
SF: Paul George
PF: Thaddeus Young (From Nets)
C: Myles Turner
On paper, this line looks like on of the top starting fives in the Eastern Conference. The key now will be building team chemistry.
On the flip side, the Pacers traded away the 20th overall pick and future 2nd round pick. Draft picks are always important, but well-established NBA veterans are important too.
Young is a well-established NBA veteran, and Bird proably did not see any first round prospects who could help the team immediately like Young. As a result, he pulled the trigger on the trade.
Next: Pacers Acquire Jeff Teague via 3-Team Trade
Overall, this is a good trade for the Indiana Pacers. They did have to give up their first round pick in this years draft, but they solidified their starting five in the process. This trade and yesterday’s trade makes the Pacers much more intriguing to watch this offseason.