Denver Nuggets: 5 way too early mid-season buyout candidates
By Alex Murray
Denver Nuggets buyout candidate #4: Thaddeus Young, F, San Antonio Spurs
Another solid defender that could be looking at a change of scenery this season is forward Thaddeus Young, who finds himself with the rebuilding San Antonio Spurs after a wild offseason for his old employers, the Chicago Bulls.
The Spurs allowed LaMarcus Aldridge to leave last season and DeMar DeRozan to depart this offseason, so it certainly seems like Gregg Popovich and company don’t have much use for veteran talent.
How long Young remains with the Spurs is very much in the air, but if he is somehow still on the roster come buyout time, one would have to think that Pop will do right by the 14-year veteran and allow him to be bought out (he is on the final year of a contract that will pay him $14-plus million this season) and find himself a contender to join.
While it will be hard to beat out the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, who seem to have a monopoly on aging veteran talent, Young would be a welcome addition in Denver, on the court on both ends as well as in the locker room.
At 33, Young won the NBA’s 2020-2021 Hustle Award, which speaks to the intangibles he possesses and how they can be applied to a young team with title hopes like the Nuggets. He was number one in charges drawn and offensive loose balls recovered per minute and was top 15 in deflections and offensive boxouts per minute, too.
Any team looking to make an imprint on the 2022 NBA playoffs would be lucky to have Young, let’s just hope it’s the Nuggets that pull the trigger when the opportunity presents itself.
