Thaddeus Young finalizing a deal to sign with Suns

Thaddeus Young finalizing a deal to sign with Suns

Free agent forward Thaddeus Young is finalizing a deal to sign with Phoenix Suns, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported Tuesday.

As of this publishing, a deal has not been made official by the organization.

Young, 35, got traded from the Toronto Raptors to the Brooklyn Nets along with Dennis Schroder in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie. Both Dinwiddie and Young were subsequently waived while Schroder’s still in Brooklyn; Young cleared waivers on Sunday.

The Phoenix Suns were one of five teams above the $182.8M second apron, so they were limited on the buyout candidates they were able to sign. According to the new CBA, any team above the first tax apron (~$172.3M) can’t sign anyone who was previously making more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.4M) at any point during the 2023-24 season.

Young was in the last year of a two-year, $16 million deal with an $8 million cap hit, per Spotrac. If the deal is finalized Tuesday, he will be on the books for $720K; that salary figure will decrease by roughly $12K each day. 

The Suns entered Tuesday with two open roster spots, which it had two weeks to fill. So they do not need to make a corresponding move unless they acquire two additional buyout players.

Young only appeared in 23 games off the bench for Toronto, averaging 5.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists, shooting 62.1 percent from the floor with a 62.6 effective field goal percentage and a 61.8 true-shooting percentage. He’s a good veteran, plus adds additional size and insurance to Phoenix’s frontcourt and does not need the ball in his hands to be impactful.

He is a good playmaker, creates deflections and is an adept offensive rebounder. Even though he does not provide the requisite floor spacing, Young could function as a screener and connector alongside the Suns’ three-headed monster of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

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