Grading the Nets: Thaddeus Young

In a season with 21 wins, a head coach fired mid-season, a front office cleaned out, two first-round rookies coming off of injuries that caused them each to miss a large portion of the season and no draft pick to ease the suffering, this was not an easy season to be a fan of the Brooklyn Nets.

Despite everything working against them, however, there were a few bright spots that inspired some optimism even in the deepest dregs of the season. Thaddeus Young, the second-most experienced player on the team, was one of these bright spots and he helped make the year less of a drag.

Now in his eighth year in the league, it’s pretty clear the type of player that Young is, but that doesn’t make him any less valuable on the court. He’s someone that can fit in to just about any type of system and with the changes that the team are about to undergo this coming offseason, that level of versatility will certainly come in handy.

Offensively, Young is a productive player even though he doesn’t command a ton of touches to be successful. He excels at getting to the rim and finish in traffic, but he’s also able to step back and hit a mid-range look if that’s what the defense gives to him. With Brook Lopez down low, this ability to space the floor even just to the mid-range area has value within the context of the offense.

While his jumper was working inside the three-point line, he took just 30 three-pointers this year, just two years after attempting nearly 300 while he was with the Philadelphia 76ers. Hitting at just a 23% clip, compared to 31.9% for his career, that portion of his game may never come but given that he’s not forcing the issue it’s not all that much of a problem.

His versatility also stretches to the defensive side of the court, as Young can defend both forward positions at an average to above-average rate. Though no one will ever mistake him as a rim protector, he’s able to hold his own in the post if he’s ever put in the situation, but he’s probably better off defending on the perimeter.

Throughout the course of the season, Young held opponents to 30% on three-point attempts (4% better than league average) and to 33% on shots beyond 15 feet (3% better than league-average). He’s not the quickest or most athletic player on the perimeter, but after eight years in the league he always knows where to be and does a good job of anticipating what his man is going to do.

With the NBA moving towards a more fast-paced style of play, the league is playing right into Young’s hands. He operates incredibly well in transition and the versatility that he has on both ends is now going to be able to be utilized to the fullest extent.

Young is currently locked into a deal that will keep him in Brooklyn for the next two years at the least with an approximate $12 million price tag each year. With the cap set to explode, his contract is going to look like one of the better deals in the league and will exponentially increase his trade value if that’s the route that Sean Marks decides to go.

Until that point however, if it ever comes, Brooklyn will have the benefit of having a player of Young’s unique skill set. He was a welcomed presence on both sides of the court throughout the season and he was easily one of the team’s best players.