Thaddeus Young Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Hinkie, Perkins, Young

December 8th, 2015 at 8:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The reports that the league office and other team owners played a role in the Sixers‘ hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations are troubling and could set a bad precedent for the future, Tom Ziller of SBNation opines. The SBNation scribe also points out that many of the same owners complaining about Philadelphia’s tanking didn’t vote for lottery reform when given the opportunity, and Ziller notes that it’s likely due to those franchises hedging their bets in case they need to rebuild in that manner in the future.

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

Outside of the Celtics trading him to the Thunder back in 2011, center Kendrick Perkins believes Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, has done an excellent job in rebuilding the franchise, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes. “[They’ve done] a great job,” said Perkins. “I can’t recall them really going through a real bad rebuilding process. It’s been steady. Like right now, when they come in, guys are really preparing for them like one of the good teams in the league. They’ve got a nice team. They’ve been playing really well. You can tell they play together like it’s a family.”
It’s been difficult for coach Brad Stevens to find enough playing time to go around on a deep Boston squad, but the coach believes it’s just part of the Celtics‘ growing process, Bulpett notes in the same piece. “How many guys are on our team, 15?” Stevens told Bulpett. “I’ve talked to all 15 about it. It’s all part of the experience, not only of a normal team but just of our depth, especially in the frontcourt. So you just try to keep those conversations alive. The one thing that I think that these guys know, and I hope they would say this, is that my door is always open to talk.”
Conventional wisdom will credit Sixers GM Sam Hinkie only partially, if that, should the Sixers’ rebuilding plan bear fruit now that Colangelo is on board, but Hinkie would get all the blame if the plan fails, posits Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Nets combo forward Thaddeus Young has seen how quickly other players’ NBA careers have ended, and he uses that as his motivation to keep working to improve, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders writes. “You see guys come and go each and every year,” Young told Camerato. “I saw how quickly it could become a situation where you don’t know if you’re going to be in the NBA, D-League or overseas. It’s definitely an eye-opening experience. You do see a lot of guys on other teams and you say, ‘Man he was good. Seeing those type of guys being able to play this game and then they’re not in the league anymore, it’s crazy.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Young, Budenholzer, D-League

October 6th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thaddeus Young was looking for a change after playing on losing teams with the Sixers and Timberwolves, and while he had a brief taste of success with the Nets late last season, he didn’t hesitate to re-sign with Brooklyn even though the team is taking a step back, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com details. Young, who’s endured family hardship the past two years, has long been seeking stability, Mazzeo writes. “It was a smooth transition. The guys on the team, the front office and the coaching staff were so welcoming that it made me want to stay,” Young said of his initial experience in Brooklyn. “Whatever we asked for, they got it done. It’s frustrating when you’re in an environment where you’re not happy with a lot of things that go on. But for the most part, I’m happy here, and we have a great coach in Lionel Hollins. I think he’s done a helluva job putting us in a position where we can be successful, and I think he’s going to continue to do that.”

Here’s more from out of the Eastern Conference:

Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer says he’s trying to follow Gregg Popovich‘s lead now that he’s joined the longtime Spurs boss among coaches who also oversee basketball operations for their teams, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Budenholzer added that he has a great deal of trust in new GM Wes Wilcox.
The Heat have officially added Octavio De La Grana and Corey Belser as assistant coaches on new coach Dan Craig‘s staff for their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team announced.
Nets shooting guard Markel Brown, whose $200K partial guarantee jumped to a full guarantee on his $845,059 minimum salary when he wasn’t waived by his contract’s September 29th guarantee date, will miss the remainder of the preseason, the team announced. Brown is suffering from a strained left oblique muscle.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

New York Notes: ‘Melo, Fisher, Seraphin, Young

September 30th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony said that he’ll be taking Kristaps Porzingis under his wing, further distancing himself from the idea that he was upset with the Knicks for drafting the Latvian big man fourth overall, as Marc Berman of the New York Post details.

“As far as him going into this season, I kind of feel bad for him,’’ Anthony said. “There’s so much pressure on him. This guy hasn’t played one minute in the NBA. I’m going to try to be a big brother to him and try to take the pressure off. There’s going to be so much pressure he’s never experienced yet. He’s 19 years old, first time in the NBA. This is new to him. A newcomer in New York. That’s tough. I don’t think he knows what he’s getting himself into. I have to be that role for him.’’

See more on the Knicks and their New York rivals, the Nets:

Derek Fisher has twice reminded reporters that he, and not Phil Jackson, is the coach of the Knicks in response to inquiries about Jackson’s plan for increased involvement with the coaching staff this season, but Fisher resists the idea that he’s feeling insecure, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “I was asked a question. I don’t think about it until I’m asked about it. I’m me and he’s him and I don’t get caught up in how much and not enough and it’s my job. I’m the coach of the team. How we do will fall on my shoulders,” Fisher said. “It doesn’t matter who says what or how many percentages or times we meet and watch film or whatever. It’s on me. And I’m comfortable with that. I wouldn’t have accepted the job if I wasn’t comfortable with it.”
The Knicks convinced Kevin Seraphin that they have room for him to contribute, a key in persuading him to sign with New York after he felt frustration about his lack of playing time with the Wizards last season, as he explained to reporters, including Berman, who writes in a separate piece. Seraphin signed a one-year, $2.814MM deal with the Knicks after averaging 15.6 minutes per game in 79 appearances for Washington this past season.
Thaddeus Young cited his family’s comfort in the New York area as one reason he decided to opt out and re-sign with the Nets instead of opting in for the coming season, notes Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. Young, believed to be the first Nets player to live in Brooklyn since the franchise moved there three years ago, inked a four-year, $50MM deal in July after turning down a nearly $10.222MM player option.
Joe Johnson wasn’t exactly fond of Deron Williams, sources told Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com, and Johnson expressed puzzlement Monday about why Williams would buy his way off the Nets, as Mazzeo details. Williams gave up all but about $27.5MM of the nearly $43.374MM left on his contract to escape Brooklyn, but, “It’s not that bad here,” Johnson insists.
Johnson, 34, also hinted at retirement, saying that he plans to play beyond this season, the last one on his contract with the Nets, but not ruling out a change of heart. “God willing, as long as I’m healthy I’ll continue to play,” Johnson said, as Mazzeo relays in the same piece. “I don’t think it’s my last, but we’ll see.”

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Celtics, Blake

July 10th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Shane Larkin, who recently inked a two-year, $3MM deal with the Nets, believes his career was stalled by the Knicks‘ triangle offense during the 2014/15 season, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “[The triangle] just wasn’t the best fit for me,” Larkin said. “It’s a good system but I’m a pick-and-roll point guard. That’s how I got in the NBA, playing pick-and-roll in college. That’s how I got here and now being back in a system where I can play the pick-and-roll and just getting in the lane, create for others, shoot my floater, and do a bunch of other things.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nets still haven’t made a decision regarding whether the team will attempt to negotiate a buyout with point guard Steve Blake or keep him on the roster, Bondy adds. “I know we have a lot of guys at the point guard position. That’ll be resolved hopefully in the next month, eliminate, so hopefully we won’t have as many going to camp,” GM Billy King said.
The Knicks signed Derrick Williams for less than initially thought, as he’ll get $8.8MM over two years, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Thaddeus Young has a 15% trade kicker in his deal with the Nets, Pincus relays (on Twitter).
DeMarre Carroll‘s four-year deal with the Raptors comes to $58MM total, notes Pincus (Twitter link).
The Celtics have officially renounced their rights to Shaquille O’Neal, Stephon Marbury, Michael Olowokandi, Michael Finley, Carlos Arroyo, Nenad Krstic, P.J. Brown, and Scot Pollard, which in turn removes their cap holds, Pincus notes (Twitter links). These moves drop Boston below the salary cap line for the first time in nearly 20 years, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. Boston also loses any form of Bird Rights to these players, though that is a mere formality since it is highly unlikely any of them would be suiting up for the team in the future.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Nets Re-Sign Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young

July 9th, 2015 at 12:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 9TH, 12:23pm: Both deals are official, the Nets announced via press release.

“We are very pleased to welcome Brook and Thaddeus back the Brooklyn Nets,” GM Billy King said. “Brook is one of the premier big men in this league, while Thad proved to be a perfect complement to Brook last year after he was acquired from Minnesota. Being able to re-sign both of our free agent targets allows us to provide the continuity in our frontcourt that we were looking for going into the upcoming season.”

11:02am: Lopez’s deal doesn’t include a player option, after all, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck (Twitter link).

10:35am: The Nets and both players have indeed reached agreement, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Young is getting a player option, too.

12:55am: Lopez’s deal will include a player option after the second season, Wojnarowski reports.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 1ST, 12:04am: The Nets appear to be all but finished securing Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, as expected. A source close to the talks told Marc Stein of ESPN.com to “consider them done deals” (Twitter link). Lopez is expected to sign for three years and $60MM, which is about the maximum, while Young is expected to get four years and $50MM, according to Stein.

This news doesn’t come as a surprise, with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports previously reporting that Brooklyn was the frontrunner to re-sign both players. The Nets have reportedly been planning to pay Lopez his full market value, although the agreement could include some financial protections for Brooklyn should a recurrence of the seven-footer’s past foot issues sideline him again, Wojnarowski noted. Lopez could also opt to have the agreement include a player option for the third year, which would allow him to re-enter free agency after the maximum contract salaries elevate with the flow of new television money.

Young had reportedly been leaning toward opting out back in May, though Young’s agent, Jim Tanner, had suggested that he instead opt in and hit free agency next summer, when the salary cap is projected to surge. The 27-year-old averaged 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game this season, and was acquired by Brooklyn in a midseason trade with Minnesota. Young will still likely listen to pitches from other teams despite the mutual interest in a return to Brooklyn, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Magic are reportedly interested in signing the forward, per Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.

Nets Frontrunners To Re-Sign Lopez, Young

June 30th, 2015 at 10:55am CST by Eddie Scarito

TUESDAY, 10:55am: The Magic have kept an eye on Young as a possible target, but he’s still likely to re-sign with the Nets, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).

3:19pm: Young will listen to pitches from other teams despite the mutual interest in a return to Brooklyn, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 1:25pm: Opposing teams increasingly convinced that they have no shot at either Lopez or Young, report Marc Stein and Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com.

FRIDAY, 4:37pm: The Nets are strong frontrunners to re-sign Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young this offseason, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Both players will be unrestricted free agents after opting out of their respective deals for the 2015/16 campaign. GM Billy King is determined to keep the pair, and both players opted out of their contracts with strong intentions of reaching agreement on new deals with Brooklyn, league sources informed Wojnarowski.

Lopez is likely seeking a three-year, $60MM maximum contract, according to the Yahoo! scribe’s sources. The Nets are planning to pay the seven-footer full market value, although the agreement could include some financial protections for Brooklyn should a recurrence of Lopez’s past foot issues sideline him again, Wojnarowski notes. Lopez could also opt to do a deal that includes a player option for the third year, which would allow him to re-enter free agency after the maximum contract salaries elevate with the flow of new television money, adds Wojnarowski. The big man passed on the $16,744,218 that he was due next season, with the hope that he can secure a new long-term deal.

Young, who opted out of the nearly $10.222MM owed him next season, is on course for a four-year, $48MM-plus deal via free agency, and the Nets appear strongly willing to meet those parameters, league sources relayed to Wojnarowski. The forward had reportedly been leaning toward opting out as of late last month, though Young’s agent Jim Tanner had suggested that he instead opt in and hit free agency next summer, when the salary cap is projected to surge. The 27-year-old averaged 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game this season, and was acquired by Brooklyn in a midseason trade with Minnesota.

Atlantic Rumors: Celtics, Smart, Nets

June 25th, 2015 at 12:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest from the Atlantic Division..

The Celtics have indicated that they “would have to be blown away” by an opportunity to move Marcus Smart, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Earlier this week it was reported that the Celtics were seeking Nerlens Noel in a deal for the guard. Smart and Noel were No. 6 overall picks in back-to-back years.
Nets GM Billy King told reporters there is a possibility the Nets could go into next season with Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams all on the roster, Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com tweets.
When asked if Lopez and Young are max players, the Nets GM replied, “Next question,” according to Mazzeo (Twitter links).
One agent representing a fringe first-rounder the Sixers called for told Jake Fischer of SI (on Twitter) that he doesn’t want his client “to be the next K.J. McDaniels.” McDaniels was a high second round selection of the Sixers last year but wound up signing a one-year, minimum contract offer with them after a protracted contract battle. Later in the year, he was traded to the Rockets, and he’ll now hit free agency this summer.

Thaddeus Young Opts Out From Nets

June 22nd, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

10:29am: Young has indeed opted out, King confirmed today to reporters, including Andy Vasquez of The Record (Twitter link), saying that he has his sights set on re-signing him. King added that the team has extended a qualifying offer to Mirza Teletovic, as the GM said the Nets would.

10:10am: Thaddeus Young has opted out from the Nets, a league source tells Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Haynes indicates that the move has already taken place, and while the Nets have made no official announcement, there won’t necessarily be formal acknowledgement, since players don’t have to declare when they’re turning down player options; they only have to say when they’re opting in. Young was in line to make nearly $10.222MM had he picked up the option.

The news is no shock, since Young was reportedly leaning toward opting out as of late last month, though that came a few weeks after Young said agent Jim Tanner had suggested that he instead opt in and hit free agency next summer, when the salary cap is projected to surge. Young also said in early May that he wanted to see what Brook Lopez would do with his player option, so perhaps today’s news is an indication that Lopez has made up his mind, too. Nets GM Billy King has made it clear that it’s a priority for the club to retain both Young and Lopez regardless of whether they opt out. That’s in spite of the looming luxury tax threshold that would make it difficult for the Nets, who have nearly $59MM in guaranteed salary already on the books for next season, to keep both without passing the projected $81.6MM tax line. The Nets would pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they’re again in the tax at the end of next season. King has indicated a willingness to trade every player on the roster, including the bloated contracts of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson.

The 29-year-old Young averaged 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game this season, his first away from the Sixers, and his numbers during the second half of the season in Brooklyn were similar to those that he put up before a midseason trade that sent him away from Minnesota.

Cavs Notes: Love, Draft, Dellavedova

June 9th, 2015 at 11:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Team officials around the league are split on whether Draymond Green or Kevin Love is the better player, and no one on the Warriors would trade Green for Love straight-up these days, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. That represents a dramatic shift from the beginning of the season, but Cavs GM David Griffin, whose team had been discussing Love trades with the Timberwolves two years prior to last August’s trade, is adamant that the Cavs want to keep Love, according to Lowe. There’s more on Love, who likewise continues to insist that he wants to stay in Cleveland, amid the latest on the Cavs:

Cleveland’s willingness to have given up Andrew Wiggins for Love in the first place was tied to the choice LeBron James made to return to Cleveland, Griffin admitted in his interview with Lowe. “You have a finite window when you’re dealing with a player that’s 30,” Griffin said, citing James’ age. “The organization had wanted Kevin for a while, but we paid the price we paid entirely because of LeBron’s presence.”
Lowe nonetheless suggests that the Cavs could have kept Wiggins and acquired Thaddeus Young from the Sixers instead of Love, sending salary filler to Philadelphia along with the same first-round pick that ended up going to Sixers in the three-team Love trade.
The Cavs had workouts scheduled Monday with Arizona power forward Brandon Ashley, Michigan State guard Travis Trice, Wisconsin-Green Bay point guard Keifer Sykes, Louisville swingman Wayne Blackshear and Stanford small forward Anthony Brown, sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link).
Matthew Dellavedova is proving former Cavs GM Chris Grant wise as he makes an outsized impact in the Finals at the tail end of the two-year minimum-salary deal Grant signed him to in 2013, as Chris Mannix of SI.com examines. Dellavedova is set for restricted free agency this summer.

Thaddeus Young Leaning Toward Opting Out

May 26th, 2015 at 9:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Thaddeus Young is believed to be leaning toward turning down his player option worth nearly $10.222MM for next season, according to Marc Stein and Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. There were conflicting narratives on the matter earlier this month, but Nets GM Billy King said recently that he sees Young as a building block and wants him back with the team regardless of what he does with his option. King said the same of Brook Lopez, and Stein and Mazzeo second earlier reports from Fred Kerber of the New York Post and Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck that Lopez is likely to opt out. Kerber and Beck indicated that Lopez is also likely to re-sign with Brooklyn, though Stein and Mazzeo don’t make that same point.

Young said at the beginning of the month that agent Jim Tanner suggested that he opt in and take advantage of a surging salary cap in the summer of 2016. However, a source close to Young told SB Nation’s Jake Fischer around the same time that the former 12th overall pick had strong interest in testing free agency, and he presumably meant this year. Young said at the time that his choice would be influenced by Lopez’s decision regarding his own option, worth more than $16.744MM.

Young has nonetheless made it clear on multiple occasions that he likes playing for the Nets, who acquired him at the deadline for Kevin Garnett. The Timberwolves obliged Young’s trade request after he told them he didn’t intend to pick up the option to stay in Minnesota. It appears he’s thought much harder about the idea of opting in ever since such a decision meant he would instead be staying with the Nets, though the lure of free agency this summer may well be too strong for the veteran who just finished his eighth season and turns 27 in June.