Should the Celtics look to acquire Philly's Thaddeus Young?

According to the blog Liberty Ballers, Thaddeus Young has asked out of Philadelphia.

From Liberty Ballers' Jake Fisher:

"Thad is kind of anxious," the source said Wednesday afternoon while Asik talks were still ongoing. "He just wants them to do the trade if they are. He hates waiting. [Playing for a contender] would be great because the Sixers definitely aren't making the playoffs this year."

...

"Playing for the Sixers is wasting a year of Thad's career," the source said.

When asked about it today, of course Young shot it down.

From CSN Philly:

“I just think it is funny that it is 'sources' that say I asked to be traded,” Young said. “I am here, ready to give 110 percent each and every game. I am ready to just play and try to win basketball games.”

There was no yes or no in his answer, so Young was asked point blank: Did he ask to be traded?

“No,” Young said. “My agent has talked to [general manager Sam Hinkie] about different situations and options. I know there have been talks about me being traded and me having a lot of frustrations, but that comes with losing basketball games. People have to realize that when you are in a losing situation like we are now, we are going to get frustrated and everyone is going to tense up a little bit. That is what has been happening.”

While he may or may not have demanded out of Philadelphia, saying his agent has been talking with the GM about "different situations and options" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. The Sixers are one of the few teams successfully tanking this year and probably wouldn't mind shedding Young's payroll and talent in an attempt to draft one of the studs in the upcoming draft.

Does it make sense for the Celtics to make a run at him?

Young is a very nice, young (no pun intended) player. But at 25 years old, he's not THAT young. So far this season, Young is averaging 15.8 ppg and 6.6 rpg and is scoring 48.7 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from the three-point line. The Celtics are already getting that kind of production out of their small forward with Jeff Green, who is putting up 16.4 ppg and 4.6 rpg and is scoring 45.3 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from the three-point line.

Another similarity between Young and the 27-year-old Green is how much they are getting paid. Green is under contract until 2016, where he will make $8.965 million this year, $9.445 million next year and has a player option on the last year for almost $9.5 million. Young will make $8.85 million this year, around $9.4 million next year and can opt out of around $9.97 million in the final year.

Young reportedly wants to go to a contender, so Boston may not be a preferred destination unless he just wants to make the playoffs and see what happens.

For Boston, the only reason they acquire Young is if it's part of a plan to unload Green onto another team. If Green is part of a package for an all-star caliber player or a major salary dump, then Young is a nice replacement and two years younger. Problem is, any team that might trade for Green can easily try for Young instead.

Since swapping out Green for Young literally does nothing for their salary situation and both players put out similar numbers, there's very little chance Celtics GM Danny Ainge even makes a call about Young, unless there are many more moves on the way.



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stats via Basketball-Reference