Hooray for Thaddeus Young
Get excited about Thaddeus Young, people! The first player to go that wasn’t in the green room went to your Philadelphia 76ers. As much as he wasn’t on the radar with the 12th pick, he was on Billy King’s radar and that’s all that mattered. Nobody saw it coming, and that included Young himself.
No doubt many of you are expecting me to blast Billy King in this space. It’s been well documented from Billy King’s lips to your ears and eyes that the Sixers were desparately trying to trade up in the draft. By keeping the pick and selecting a guy on potential, the Sixers were essentially saying one of two things. One - we really didn’t want the pick, so we just took the guy with the highest potential. Two - we really liked Thaddeus Young and were willing to trade up to get him if necessary. As crazy as that sounds, I think the Sixers were in the camp of #2. After sleeping on it, he’s a great fit for the rebuilding Sixers. We get ourselves a shooter with big upside to help Iguodala.
All you have to do is look at the guys selected behind him to get an idea of how much they liked Thaddeus. You have Julian Wright, Al Thornton, Rodney Stuckey, Nick Young, and Sean Williams going 13-17. I liked Thornton, but I could tell that the Sixers weren’t crazy about him. I found out today that he has an injuried wrist that will require surgery and will keep him out for four months. My wife liked Julian Wright after watching Kansas play a few times this past year. I thought he’d be a good fit, but felt that there was a lower ceiling on him. Both guys have less upside than Thaddeus.
Going into the college basketball season, Thaddeus was mentioned in the same sentence with the likes of Kevin Durant, Brandan Wright, and the Ohio State trio. He was one of the most promising players in the country. However, after leading Georgia Tech to the NCAA tournament, they were beaten rather easily by UNLV in the first round. The Yellowjackets didn’t play well and their freshman studs declared for the NBA Draft.
Thaddeus has a good frame as a lanky 6′8″ left-handed forward. He’s a terrific shooter. The Sixers desparately need a guy who can shoot other than Kyle Korver. Thaddeus is very versatile in that he can shoot from the outside and post up on the block. That inside-outside game gets lost in college ball - especially for team like Georgia Tech.
Another side note here is whether or not the Sixers would have taken Spencer Hawes if the Kings passed on him at 10. That pick didn’t make much sense, but they did Billy King a favor. Hawes was impressive in his Sixers workout, but perhaps the hush on Thaddeus was a ploy all along.
The big trades involving the top ten picks didn’t involve switching first rounders, but acquiring second round picks and a veteran player. The Sixers had that to offer with everybody outside of Andre Iguodala as bait. However, the Sixers missed the boat on that one by not trading Allen Iverson on draft day last year. The final pieces to the puzzle were the 21st and 30th picks of this draft, which they used to acquire Jason Smith and Derrick Byars. So, the final result was Iverson and Ivan McFarlin (remember him?) to Denver for Andre Miller, Jason Smith, Derrick Byars, and Joe Smith for the rest of the year (he’s a free agent). In the end, I say that’s not too bad.
Perhaps we could have offered Portland a better package for Zach Randolph (Korver, Miller, Hunter, Carney, Dalembert, Green - take your pick!), but would we be better off? It was a great move for the Knicks, but what about the Sixers? I think the most disappointing thing for Sixers fans was the reality that set in - the Sixers have a long rebuilding process ahead of them. Zach Randolph would have made the Sixers no better than a fringe playoff team. That’s where the Knicks will be this year.
As for Boston, trading the fifth pick for Ray Allen gives Paul Pierce his Antoine Walker back. Glen Davis and Gabe Pruitt were great second round additions. With Gerald Green and Al Jefferson still developing, I think Danny Ainge has a good team now. They’ll be a division title contender for a few years. Some people don’t like the move, but they got to dump Szczerbiak in the deal as well while getting two first round talents in Pruitt and Davis.
Starting out next year, the Sixers are sitting at fifth in the division. Toronto is the defending champs with Bosh and Bargnani leading the way. Don’t forget about New Jersey. It looks like they’ll keep the nucleus together and adding Sean Williams to the mix will give them the immediate impact they need. They got the guy they’ve been missing since Kenyon Martin went to Denver.
So, with apologies to Thaddeus, we don’t stack up well against the rest of the division at the moment. Getting Byars in the second round certainly helps us though. I liked him as much as that group selected from 13-17. Rodney Carney will be on the move this summer. The rumor to Memphis for Kyle Lowry makes a lot of sense (good call lawrence!). Welcome to Philadelphia, Thaddeus!
This entry was posted
on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Kyle Lowry, Billy King, Glen Davis, Derrick Byars, Thaddeus Young, Andre Miller, Sam Dalembert, Atlantic Division, Rodney Carney, Kyle Korver, Steven Hunter, Nick Young, Al Thornton, Allen Iverson, Jason Smith, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Joe Smith, Julian Wright, 2007 NBA Draft, Zach Randolph, Sean Williams, Rodney Stuckey, Sixers.
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17 Responses to “Hooray for Thaddeus Young”
June 29th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
I’m with you. When I heard Young’s name I had no idea who he was. But going on the web the more I learned about him the more intrigued I became. He had the bad NCAA tournament game but otherwise he put up some really nice numbers. And frankly I was having a lot of trouble getting excited about Thornton and Wright.
Also I had the same gut feeling about the whole “trading up” shtick. I don’t know why but for some reason I think it was a smokescreen.
I’m also psyched we got Byars. I was amazed he was still available at 42.
And Smith seems like a better choice than McRoberts.
By the way do you know what’s up with this Center we got from Providence. What did we trade for him?
I think you’ve got to hand it to Billy King. He could of taken the consensus pick but instead he went a bit out on a limb. It will probably mean less success in the short term but hopefuly it will make the next few seasons that much more exciting.
I’m thinking I may have to buy one of those twelve packs of tickets for this upcoming season.
Sorry I couldn’t find anything to disagree with you about. It would have been so much more provocative.
June 29th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
we traded fesenko to utah
utah gave us the herbert hill pick (55) and future considerations
he’s raw and probably better than steven hunter.
worth a shot, i guess
June 30th, 2007 at 10:17 am
You know, every NFL draft for the last 7 years the Eagles do something to p*ss off the Fans. The fans take to WIP & the internet saying how bad the front office has been run and how the Eagles just s*ck. These people are idiots. The Eagles front office have an amazing record over the last 7 years. They’ve been very, very right way more often than they’ve been wrong. The Eagles’ Front Office and coaching staff have a history of success. The Eagles could draft me in the first round and I’d still give them the benefit of the doubt.
Needless to say, Billy King has a track record, and it’s not of success. It wasn’t by accident that Iverson wasn’t traded last year, or we didn’t get fair trade value for him - it was Billy King’s actions. It was Billy King who was insulting Iverson (and Webber) all last summer with his “Change the culture” rant.
And finally, the Billy King has been killing the Sixers by these “too clever by a half” moves. Andre Iguodala, that was the obvious safe choice for the Sixers at #9.
What do we know about Julian Wright, Al Thornton, Rodney Stuckey, Nick Young, and Sean Williams? At worst they would be able to contribute on any of the conference finals teams. And they would be able to contribute to the sixers for the next several years. It’s not that exciting to write about, but we want the Sixers to be good.
The Bulls can take a risk, the Heat can take a risk, the Wizzards can take a risk, the Sixers can’t. They just don’t have the foundation to take a risk in a draft as deep as this one.
June 30th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Dervin,
That was my initial reaction until I looked at the big picture. Getting Jason Smith and Derrick Byars should change your mind. More to come…
June 30th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
One thing to consider is that Young was apparently trying to use his college year (he apparently never planned to stay longer than one) to show NBA scouts he had an outside game. He had already established to most people’s satisfaction that he was very strong inside. Perversly this rather questionable strategy had the effect of exposing some of his weaknesses, particularly his poor ball handling and open floor defense, rather than promoting his perimiter game. The general feeling seems to be that in the league he’ll play more to his strengths and hopefully with some decent coaching be able to shore up some of his weaknesses.
Another thing that makes me feel good about this draft is that the remaining picks have all started coming into their own only in the last year or so. Particularly Smith who apparently made great strides in spite of poor coaching (I think I saw somewhere that the Co. St. couch was fired recently.) So with a bit of luck this is only the beginning for one or more of those guys.
The draft is always a bit of a crap shoot. But I think King and Co. made some good gambles. If they can get a banger underneath (I don’t think Dalambert’s going to cut it at center long term) and sort out the eventual post-Miller PG situation I think they could be very good two or three years down the road.
June 30th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I think King did pretty well on draft night.
Thaddeus sounds like the real thing. He just needs time, like a lot of picks do. Smith should be okay, ditto Byars.
Congratulations.
T
July 1st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Not buying it.
You are doing a Post Hoc analysis to make this selection seem better than it actually is.
When Billy King does risky deals they always fail.
This draft was too deep and too rich with talent to take a big risk. There was no good reason for this.
Maybe Billy King turned a corner freed from Iverson and Webber. Maybe he gained some new insight. Maybe he’s gained special powers because of a undiagnosed brain tumor.
July 1st, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Dervin,
I’m with ya on the whole Billy King deal. I am not advocating giving him a pass. There will be plenty of time over the summer to address that. What I’m proposing in this piece is that we should give Thaddeus a pass and not place all our frustration on him. It will turn out that he’s on par with the other options at 12, and perhaps even better than all of ‘em in a few years. Remember, they booed Donovan because he wasn’t Ricky Williams. Not the same scenario, but still applies. Give the guy a shot. I agree with you that BK has had his shots. I disagree that they always fail though, but only based on one case - Iguodala.
I have been upfront about my love for Byars. Unfortunately, he might not have much of an impact with all the players we have on the wing. Smith is key if he can take the starting power forward spot from Hunter. I believe he will turn out pretty good. I heard a comparison to Mike Gminski and I’ll take that.
Ben’s on board with Thaddeus and T sees these guys as good fits as well. Here’s the bottom line - we upgraded our starting frontcourt of Carney and Hunter (or Willie Green instead of Carney if that’s the flavor of the week). I know Iggy isn’t LeBron, but consider putting the rookies around LBJ on the Cavs. Would you be excited? Then, consider Iggy averaging 20, 6 & 6 this year and you’ve got something. We just need to turn over the entire supporting cast around Iguodala. I liked the idea of adding 4 guys, but didn’t think BK would do it. 2 guaranteed contracts and 2 second rounder minimums will work. Ad hoc, Ad nauseum, Ad hominem…whatever!
July 1st, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Jon,
With your team performing so well after January, why the need for a complete shake up?
I was pleasantly surprised at that group’s success and somewhat happy because it vindicated team play and my opinion about Iverson.
And for the record, I’m really not sure about the fit for the new guys, but they seem like sold picks for where they were chosen, that’s all.
BTW..did the resurgence, as modest as it was, change anyone’s opinion about Cheeks?
T
July 1st, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Sorry for the typo. That was supposed to say “solid picks”.
T
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:33 am
Consider that Cheeks coached headcases in Portland (the Jail Blazers) and here (AI). It must have been a breath of fresh air when AI was traded and Webber bought out. His rotation substitutions need work (predetermined situational groups of players - you know, need-a-quick-basket team, need-a-stop team, etc.), but he’s certainly not the poor coach we made him out to be in the beginning of the season.
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:51 pm
If I’m not mistaken about Iguodala, he was the “obvious” pick. If you look at the various draft boards from 2004, . The sixers got lucky he fell down to nine.
The drafting of Young is the opposite. It would have been similar to drafting Rafael Araujo, Josh Childress or Al Jefferson.
Dala was a slider, Young is a reach.
When you grab a slider, you think “The other guy screwed up.” When you reach you think “I’m smarter than everybody else.”
Billy King, over the last six years has proven he isn’t smarter than anybody else.
Now that being said, you are bringing up a good point of how we really shouldn’t let the taint of Billy King judge our view of Young. I want the sixers to do well and I don’t care if Billy King is in charge or not.
I want Young to do well, but given the depth of this draft to take a risk on Young is irresponsible.
July 3rd, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Irresponsible against what other option? Reports say that the Sixers are still trying to trade for Yi. Julian Wright, Al Thornton, and Rodney Stuckey didn’t excite them more than Young. How much of a difference are we talking about here anyway? This isn’t Kenny Payne.
July 4th, 2007 at 4:01 am
that’s what nice with blogs, you can discuss with people and even DISAGREE. you made a damn good post as usual and I respect your view but I am not with you on many points:
1) Sixers didn’t need someone to shoot other than Korver because they already had a guy doing it, Willie Green (LOL). They need someone TO SCORE, which is different… ok, this was only a joke…
2) Boston still sucks big time, and the Green/Allen trade is bad, especially on the long term. Don’t be misled by the fact that they will win more games next season, first because that won’t be such a tough accomplishment (…), second because they won’t go anywhere. Tor, NY, NJ and even Sxrs are better than Boston to me
They still have the worst coach in the League and perhaps the worst GM. Maybe 1-2 yrs of borderline playoffs appearances and then 3-4 more years of sucking
3) also not sure that NY will make the playoffs….
4) I hope we keep Carney and give this guys a full season to develop (possibily putting his ass on the floor…), I have the feeliing that letting him go would be a mistake, kinda like we did with Bell, Bowen, Barnes…
giving up on your 1st round pick after a season? and after he’s been TOTALLY MISMANEGED by our dumb coach?
more to come on my blog soon
later bro
July 4th, 2007 at 4:02 am
some grammar mistakes in my previous post, sorry, I am a poor guido, LOL
July 10th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Sorry for the late reply.
You are saying that Young might be a superstar - but he might also be a bust. Julian Wright, Al Thornton, and Rodney Stuckey they might have a lower ceiling, but they also have a much higher floor. With the sixers having as many needs as they do, getting another wing player was foolish and getting a project of a wing player is nonsense. That’s why I feel the choice was irresponsible.
To say Julian Wright, Al Thornton, and Rodney Stuckey didn’t excite them more than Young is only a valid defense when the Sixers have a successful history of drafting underrated players. Billy King just doesn’t have this history.
Finally, I’m surprised you haven’t lost it with the “Billy King is working on a trade…” nonsense. It’s not like we’ve been hearing the same thing for the last few years. Lots of talk, little results.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:02 am
Taking Al Thornton would have been obvious considering we needed a PF player badly.
Taking Julian Wright would have been the correct Mock Draft Pick in line since his stock fell late.
Al seems a little short to be our man at PF
&
Julian not right considering our needs
So if your Billy King who do you take?
Well i will tell you ….. ready?
*THADDEUS YOUNG*
THAD dosent play a tall enough PF game nor is he right considering our needs, he isnt ready to win nor is he ready to take our #9’s position BUT i will put money on it this kid is for real and some day those moronz on ESPN are gonna be saying “Can you believe 11 teams passed on Thaddeus Young back in 07″ I predict he is going to become the Kobe Bryant we never got.
PASSION & PRIDE
1983 the next one will be 2013 (think about it!)
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