Larry Bird is already going for seconds at the offseason buffet.
According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Thursday, the Indiana Pacers have acquired forward Thaddeus Young from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for the No. 20 pick in this year’s draft and a future second-round pick.
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 (@WojVerticalNBA) June 23, 2016
The move comes just one day after the Pacers shored up their backcourt by trading for All-Star point guard Jeff Teague.
Young, 28, averaged 15.1 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game for Brooklyn in 2015-16. He gives the Pacers a legitimate starting 4 who can create offense by scoring with his back to the basket or facing up. The Georgia Tech product can also body opposing power forwards and provide some relief on the glass for a Pacers squad that was the fourth-worst rebounding team in the league last season (per NBA.com). Young’s arrival hopefully means that Indiana can ditch last season’s experimentation with playing Paul George out of position.
The Pacers, who appear to have preyed on Brooklyn’s desperation to acquire any sort of semi-valuable assets, make off like bandits in this deal. While Young has some ball-stopping tendencies and doesn’t have great instincts or mobility on defense, his arrival in Indiana helps provide the Pacers with the makings of a very well-rounded team heading into 2016-17.
Image Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
