Revealing the Suns' signing of Thaddeus Young: The Big Three lead the new team to the championship The last spot may be given to Gallinari
On February 14, Beijing time, according to ESPN's Woj, the Suns are finalizing a contract with 35-year-old forward Thaddeus Young, and the two sides will sign a contract until the end of the season. Woj said Young's arrival will bring a mature and capable performance to the Suns' bench. Subsequently, the local media of the Sun revealed what specific help this new signing can bring to the Suns. With the addition of Young, the Suns' new 14+3 roster is out, and they are also interested in Gallinari, and the last spot on the lineup may be reserved for him.
Young was sent to the Nets at the trade deadline before being cut and made a free agent. The Suns need to bolster this top-heavy roster and add reinforcements to the Big Three, and Young is a good choice. The 35-year-old has averaged 15 minutes per game for the Raptors this season, contributing five points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He has played 18 seasons and has played for the 76ers, Timberwolves, Nets, Pacers, Bulls, Spurs and Raptors in his career. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 1,162 regular-season games.
Salary expert Bobby Marks said that Thaddeus Young's annual salary before he was cut was $8 million, which is less than the $12.4 million annual salary of the full middle class, so even if the Suns trigger the second local tycoon line, the veteran can still be signed. Not only did he get the Suns' veteran base salary, but he could also enjoy the original salary.
What can Thaddeus Young bring to the Suns?
What can Thaddeus Young really bring to the Suns? Arizona Sports' Suns reporter Kevin Zimmerman breaks it down.
Young is a well-organised striker with an assist ratio of 19.6 per cent, meaning that when he's on the pitch, a fifth of the goals on the pitch come from his assists. That's a pretty high rate for a non-outside role player on a team with a poor record. Young can perfectly match the Suns' system, setting up cover for teammates and making good passes. In addition, he has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.4, which is a player with few turnovers, while the Suns have more turnovers this season and rank sixth in the league.
Young's individual scoring is not high, but he shoots 62.1 percent from the field and has a sure hook shot under the basket, but he has a low three-point shooting percentage this season at just 16.7 percent (1-of-6) and rarely shoots from the outside.
Defensively, the 35-year-old still has a standout performance, ranking in the top 50 in the league for interceptions per 36 minutes (3.7), a figure that's just ahead of Okogie (3.6) and Spurs champion Wembanyama (3.6).
Of course, don't expect him to be a consistent finisher, and the best place to expect is probably a substitute number four or five (small-ball lineup).
The Suns' new 14+3 championship list is released
With the addition of Young, the Suns' roster has also changed. The latest 14+3 championship lineup is as follows -
14-man regular lineup: Durant, Beal, Booker, Nurkic, Royce O'Neal, Grayson Allen, Little, Gordon, Okogie, Roddy, Damion Lee, Eubanks, Bol Bol, Thaddeus Young.
3 players on two-way contracts: Azubuuk, Saben Lee, Maledon
According to the data, the total expenditure of this lineup is $258.3 million, of which $191.1 million is for salaries and $67.22 million for luxury tax.
The last seat is reserved for Gallinari?
According to Duane Rankin, a Sunner for The Arizona Republica, sources revealed that the Suns are interested in veteran Gallinari, who was previously cut by the Pistons. After signing Thaddeus Young, the Suns still have one spot on their regular roster. Gallinari is expected to get that opportunity.
So far this season, Gallinari has played in 32 games for the Wizards and Pistons, averaging 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 14.8 minutes per game, shooting 35.5% from three-point range. When the Pistons officially announced the cut of forward Gallinari on February 10, Suns player Nurkic tweeted: "Brother @Gallinari. ”
It is worth mentioning that before Gallinari joined the Hawks in 2020, he was still a free agent at the time, and he even tweeted and asked: "Where is the next stop?" Nurkic, who played for the Trail Blazers at that time, replied: "Brother!"
Will they meet in the sun this time?