Thaddeus Young Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: Jerebko, Hawks, Young

April 1st, 2014 at 3:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jonas Jerebko has seen an uptick in minutes under Pistons interim coach John Loyer, notes Brendan Savage of MLive, who suggests that the identity of the team’s coach for 2014/15 will weigh heavily as Jerebko decides whether to opt in. He has a $4.5MM player option for next season, but I’d be surprised if he turned that money down regardless of who’s coaching. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The recent poor play of the Hawks has put their chances of a playoff berth in jeopardy, but injuries have had much to do with that. GM Danny Ferry praised his roster and likes the way the team is positioned for future seasons, as he tells USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt.
Thaddeus Young seemed to want out of Philadelphia at one point this season, but he sees the team’s decision to keep him and anoint him the leader of a young Sixers team as a sign of respect, observes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Udonis Haslem, who has a player option for next season, has been caught off guard by his lack of minutes with the Heat this season, as he tells Shams Charania of RealGM.

Eastern Notes: Young, Jackson, Thompson

March 23rd, 2014 at 12:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers coach Brett Brown and GM Sam Hinkie have publicly expressed their desires to make Thaddeus Young feel as comfortable in his current situation as he can be, writes Christopher A. Vito of the Delaware County Daily Times. As the team overhauls its roster in preparation for this summer’s draft and the free-agency period, Young is the last remaining high-profile veteran on the roster. Young said, “They’ve been making a conscious effort to continue talking to me, keep trying to keep me on board as far as what’s going on with construction and rebuilding effort.” Young is posting career-best numbers of 17.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG, but he knows that his situation is less than desirable, writes Vito. “This is definitely a situation that, really, nobody wants to take on. Hey, sometimes this is how the cards are dealt to you and this is the situation that was dealt to me,” Young said.

More from around the Eastern Conference:

According to Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, the best way for Phil Jackson to change the culture of the Knicks is to step in and coach the team himself. Lupica thinks that if Jackson has the energy to work in the front office, then he has the energy to coach. The article also uses the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich as an example. Lupica notes that Popovich’s first important move as the team’s executive vice-president and GM was to hire himself as coach. Years later he made R.C. Buford the general manager and the two of them have been a formidable team for a long time, opines Lupica.
In addition to working out a contract extension with Kyrie Irving and possibly pursuing LeBron James, another big offseason decision the Cavaliers will have to make is in regards to Tristan Thompson, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Thompson, like Irving, can be extended this summer. He is under the Cavs’ control for next season at $5.4MM, and any extension he signs would kick in for the 2015/16 season. By then Thompson could be in line to command upwards of $12MM a year and the team will need to decide if he’s worth the investment, writes Lloyd.
Tim Bontemps of The New York Post examines the possibility and cap ramifications of the Nets re-signing Shaun Livingston this summer.

Atlantic Notes: Young, Babb, Johnson, Knicks

March 22nd, 2014 at 2:14pm CST by Charlie Adams

While Thaddeus Young is focused on finishing the Sixers dismal season on a high note, he admits to Christopher A. Vito of The Delaware County Daily Times that his player option for the 2015/16 season has crossed his mind. “It’s a lot of money to leave on the table. At the end of the day, I’m not a guy that spends a lot of money,” Young said Friday. “Obviously, I want to be winning on a championship team. At the end of the day, like I said, it’s a card that could be played.” Young added that coach Brett Brown and GM Sam Hinkie have done their best to include the power forward on board with the rebuilding process. Here’s more from the Atlantic:

Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that the recently signed duo of Chris Babb and Chris Johnson were brought in to add character to the locker room and enhance practices with their good attitudes, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Babb and Johnson both hooked onto Boston with multi-year deals after each seeing a pair of 10-day contracts.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines the likelihood that the Celtics re-sign Jerryd Bayless for next season. Bayless will need to work on his defense if he wants to be in Boston long-term, says Forsberg.
Steve Mills’ new role in the Knicks organization will likely turn out to be only ceremonial, writes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. Team president Phil Jackson will look to bring in a different GM to handle day-to-day operations for the club, and Lawrence lists Kurt Rambis, Jim Cleamons, Ronnie Lester, and Mike Dunleavy as possible candidates for the job.
Crafting his front office team is only one of the tasks Jackson will face in the early stages of his new role for the Knicks. Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders discusses the other challenges the Zen Master will deal with in the early stages of his tenure in New York.
Harvery Araton of the New York Times thinks that the Knicks’ move to bring in Jackson has overshadowed the impressive recovery that the Nets have been able to make over the second half of the season. Brooklyn sits just one game back from third place in the East after an underwhelming start to the 2013/14 campaign.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Young, 76ers, Leslie

March 4th, 2014 at 6:14pm CST by Ryan Raroque

When the 76ers last clinched a playoff berth, they finished the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season with a 35-31 record and reached the second round before getting eliminated. The only member of that team still remaining on the roster is Thaddeus Young, who at that time started just one of 63 games but produced 12.8 PPG and 5.2 RPG in nearly 28 MPG as a reserve.

Now at 25-years-old, Young stands as the third-oldest player on the team and has started all but one game this season – posting career highs in points (17.7), steals (2.2), and field goal attempts per game (15.4). Despite that, the 15-45 Sixers are clearly in rebuilding mode and will face another offseason of significant decisions to make. Aside from the draft, Philadelphia’s biggest question mark moving forward has to do with whether or not they’ll keep their former lottery pick, says Keith Pompey of The Inquirer.

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight, including more from the above piece:

Young tells Pompey he understands that other teams could be targeting him but insists he’s remaining focused: “Guys always talk and they always say [that at] any given time and given moment, you are auditioning for 29 other teams…I just took it as going out there and playing and focusing in and me doing the job and the task at hand…I didn’t look at it as I was auditioning or anything like that…It crosses your mind. But at the end of the day, you have to just play basketball and things will work out.”
Philadelphia would be wise to avoid any marquee free agent who isn’t named LeBron James this summer, argues John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News, who examines the paths that may lead the team back to respectability.
In addition to severing ties with Chris Smith earlier today, it’s worth noting that the Bayhawks recently traded the D-League rights of forward C.J. Leslie, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Leslie, who had been a top target on New York’s draft board last June, was reportedly unhappy with his role on the Knicks’ D-League affiliate.

Sixers Notes: Young, Draft, Granger

February 21st, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Cray Allred

Thaddeus Young just played one of the best games of his career a day after surviving an exodus of Sixers players at the trade deadline. The Sixers, shorthanded and already the losers of nine in a row, still lost the game and further increased their lottery odds for next year’s draft. Here’s more from the franchise that seems most committed to “tanking” this year for future trade-offs:

Before the game, Young commented to reporters on the Sixers not trading him, including Tom Moore of Bucks County Courier Times (via Twitter). After a lot of speculation around his rumored dissatisfaction in Philadelphia and their willingness to move him, the 25-year-old power forward doesn’t sound necessarily upset, but still wants to play for a winner. “I was prepared to stay or go,” said Young. “I’ve always said I want to play on a winning team.” The question remains whether Philadelphia’s slew of assets can develop into anything close to a winning club by next year, when Young will be on the final year of his contract.
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie stated the obvious to reporters, including Tom Moore of Bucks County Courier News, that he will try and turn the Sixers’ $26MM cap space, two first-round picks, and five second-round picks in the upcoming draft into premium players. “I think we’ll have a whole set of interesting opportunities in June,” Hinkie said. “We are focused on what matters, on trying to build something for Philadelphia, on trying to plant seeds and to put this program in a place that we can compete when it matters. We thought (Thursday) was yet another step in that process.”
In the same piece, coach Brett Brown said “We have to be ruthless and get the right people here” in reference to the picks and cap room that took the place of Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, and Lavoy Allen in deadline-day trades. Brown has previously said that the rebuilding process in Philadelphia has been more difficult than he anticipated.
Brown also said that he too will talk to newly acquired Danny Granger. Hinkie said earlier that he wanted to meet with Granger before granting the 30-year-old’s buyout wishes, and Brown says he’d like “to sit down with (Granger) and see what he wants.”

Ford’s Latest: Knicks, Rockets, W’s, Pelicans

February 19th, 2014 at 11:32am CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com takes an Insider-only look at the trade market for a handful of teams with little more than 24 hours remaining before Thursday’s 2:00pm Central trade deadline. We’ll round up the highlights here:

The Knicks are shopping Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert and Beno Udrih as they seek to upgrade their point guard spot. Ford mentions Jeremy Lin as a long shot possibility for New York, but Houston is adamant it doesn’t want to give him up. Trading for Lin or Kyle Lowry would require the Knicks to relinquish Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Warriors have been listening to offers for Harrison Barnes, and they’ve gone as far as to counter a few of them, Ford hears. Greg Monroe, Thaddeus Young, Tristan Thompson, Kenneth Faried, John Henson and Amir Johnson all intrigue the W’s as possible targets in exchange for Barnes, Ford writes. Golden State is also enamored with Kevin Love, as most teams around the league are.
Ford describes David Lee as available, too, but he notes there isn’t much of a market for him, which makes sense, given his bloated contract.
Part of the Pelicans‘ motivation for exploring trades for Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans is the feeling that they could fall back into position to snag a top-five pick in this year’s draft if both guys are off the roster, according to Ford. Their first-rounder goes to the Sixers if it’s No. 6 or worse. Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote earlier this morning that New Orleans was looking to move either Gordon or Evans, but not both.

Atlantic Rumors: Sixers, Terry, Felton

February 18th, 2014 at 11:13pm CST by Charlie Adams

It might turn out to be a busy deadline for the Sixers, who are trying hard to deal Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, and Spencer Hawes. Philly GM Sam Hinkie has reportedly contacted every team in the NBA about potential deals involving Turner and Young, reveals Jason Wolf of USA Today Sports. The club wants a first rounder in exchange for any of the three, and Hinkie has apparently yet to find a deal to his liking since each of them is still on the roster. Here’s more on the Sixers and the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers haven’t been shy about shopping Hawes, and the big man admits that this is the most he’s ever been mentioned in trade talks, passes along Tom Moore of Calkins Media (on Twitter).
Like Hawes, Young is also aware of speculation regarding potential deals surrounding him and his teammates, and Moore hears that Young would like to stay a member of the Sixers past the deadline (Twitter link)
Jason Terry is allegedly part of “serious” trade talks between the Nets and Kings, but he says hasn’t talked talked to GM Billy King about the rumors, tweets Rod Boone of Newsday.
Raymond Felton would like to remain on the Knicks past the deadline, but Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes that Felton understands the NBA is a business and wouldn’t be offended if he was moved. “Whoever I play for, it’s who I play for,” Felton said. “If it’s here, great, I’m going to love it. I love these guys. But if it happens, then it happens. I’m a guy who’s been in the league a long time. That’s part of the business. I understand that.”
Earlier tonight, we passed along the latest on the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo.

Ford’s Latest: Magic, Cavs, Bobcats

February 18th, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Victor Oladipo may be the only Magic player unavailable for a trade, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who adds that the team is looking for multiple first-round picks or young players for Arron Afflalo. Ford believes Orlando will indeed find a taker for Afflalo, but that’s in contrast to a report from Sam Amick of USA Today indicating the Magic aren’t that eager to trade him and aren’t hearing from any team with strong interest (Twitter link). The Magic’s price is much lower for Glen Davis and Jameer Nelson, Ford writes, and while Amick tweets that the Magic is focusing most of its trade attention on those two, Orlando hasn’t gotten anywhere with either of them yet, Amick says.

Ford has much more in his latest Insider-only piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

The Cavs and Bobcats appear to be the only teams capable of trading away a 2014 lottery pick that would actually do so, according to Ford. If the Cavs are determined to make a playoff push, they’ll offer Dion Waiters and their 2014 first-round pick in search of veteran help, Ford writes.
There’s nothing major happening on the Ersan Ilyasova front, Ford hears, naming Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour as the Bucks most likely to be traded. Milwaukee is reluctant to let go of Caron Butler, who’s a native of nearby Racine, Ford adds.
The Sixers want “significantly” more than just a first-round pick for Thaddeus Young, which has been dissuading some teams from trading for him, Ford writes.
Jeff Green and Brandon Bass are the names that come up most frequently in trade discussions involving the Celtics, according to Ford.
Several GMs tell Ford that the Lakers appear willing to discuss any player on their roster short of Kobe Bryant.
Everyone outside of DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas is available from the Kings, with Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and Jimmer Fredette the primary bait, Ford writes.
It’s unlikely the Jazz trade Gordon Hayward, Ford says, naming Marvin Williams as the team’s most likely trade candidate.
Teams are looking to acquire a package of both Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey, but the Pistons remain unwilling to deal Monroe, as multiple GMs tell Ford.

Amico’s Latest: Terry, Sixers, Cavs

February 18th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio seconds Monday’s reports of discussions between the Cavs and Nets about Jarrett Jack, but the Cavs have no interest in Jason Terry, whom the Nets would apparently be relinquishing as part of the deal. The trade appears to be on the back burner for now, but there are plenty of other rumors involving the Cavs and others around the NBA, and Amico passes along more in his latest piece:

People around the league tell Amico that Thaddeus Young is more likely to be traded than Sixers teammates Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner, who aren’t garnering strong interest. Philadelphia is reportedly looking for more in return for Young than for Hawes and Turner, lending credence to the notion that Young has greater market value.
New Cavs GM David Griffin is active, but most around the league believe he’ll pull off a small-scale deal rather than another foundation-shaking move, Amico writes.
C.J. Miles‘ camp is bracing for a trade, Amico hears, though that appears to be based out of the recognition that his $2.225MM expiring contract is a fungible asset more so than any knowledge that the Cavs are shopping him.

Deveney’s Latest: Gordon, Sixers, Rockets

February 17th, 2014 at 1:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

There are plenty of trade rumors flying around the NBA, even if no superstars seem on the verge of being dealt by Thursday’s deadline. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News shares the latest from his notebook, as we highlight here:

The Pelicans have been trying to trade Eric Gordon all season, Deveney hears, which contradicts what Gordon says the team told him. New Orleans would be willing to add salary in a deal that sends Gordon away, Deveney notes. The Sporting News scribe also seconds an earlier report that the Pelicans are looking for a big man.
The Sixers are asking for more in return for Thaddeus Young than they are for Evan Turner or Spencer Hawes, Deveney writes, though it’s not clear exactly what the price difference is.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been as active as any executive around the league, Deveney notes, which is no surprise given Morey’s history. Houston remains keen on upgrading at power forward, according to Deveney, though Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle wrote Friday that the team’s desire for perimeter help had grown stronger than its longing for a four man.