It’s no secret that the Toronto Raptors are searching for a power forward. With the trade deadline fast approaching(less than 24 hours!), they’re likely calling teams about potentially available players. One such player could be Brooklyn Nets’ power forward Thaddeus Young. A deal that would send Young to Toronto has been discussed, says Frank Isola of the New York Daily News:
The Nets are still on the process of hiring a general manager and yet several league executives claim that the club is willing to deal Brook Lopez and/or Thaddeus Young.
One scenario has Young being moved to Toronto for a package that could include Patrick Patterson and point guard Delon Wright. The Nets may want a first round pick and Toronto just happens to own the Knicks 2016 first round pick.
With this report, and Marc Stein’s report that Young is the most likely Net to be traded, it sounds like Young may not be long for Brooklyn.
Toronto could be a great fit for Young. They obviously have a hole at the power forward spot, and while Young’s perimeter shooting numbers are down this year, he can still provide a fair amount of spacing, which would open up the paint to let Lowry or DeRozan slash to the hoop, or let Valanciunas go to work down low.
This would be a good deal for Brooklyn, especially if they can get Toronto to throw in that Knicks pick. Brooklyn may have forgotten what it’s like to have a decent draft pick(They haven’t has a top-20 pick since 2010). The pick would be the main reason to do that deal, but Patrick Patterson is a serviceable player, and Delon Wright is a good young prospect.
Thad Young has averaged 15.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 51.3% from the field and 21.7% from long range(down from 33% last season).
