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NBA Courtside: Thaddeus Young says even though the Clippers lost 5 draft picks they’re still not in a bad position: “Because they made three trades before this actually happened. Which makes me believe also they knew something was coming. The first trade was Harden for Garland, right? Second trade was Zubac, right? The third trade was Kawhi. You get Toronto picks you got picks for Zubac, right? You got Garland which is pretty good fu*king point guard, right? 10 years younger than Harden. So essentially you saying, “Hey, I got to go ahead and set my team up for these next couple years just to be just decent.”
Thaddeus Young: "His first day, I remember his locker was right next to mine in the practice facility. I come in, all his sh*t is all over my locker. I look at him, he looks at me, he's like, 'What, punk b*tch [expletive]?’ I'm like, 'You know what? I'll sit over here. This your locker room, champ. You got it.' There's nothing I can do or say. Then another day he came in, he hit this old ass iPod. At this point, iPods had been touchscreen. Now, he got the one with the little spin on. Only thing he has on his iPod is all Michael Jackson songs. That's all he listens to is Michael Jackson songs. At that point I knew I was like, he can't do no wrong."
Young said Allen Iverson arrived to find some of his belongings in Young's locker. Iverson then jokingly confronted the rookie, telling him not to touch his things again. Young's response was essentially to give the veteran his space. “I'm like, you know what? I'll sit over here,” Young said. “This your locker room, champ. You got it, big dog. Like, there's nothing I can do or say.”
You came into the league really young. What was that transition like, and who were the veterans that took you under their wing in Minnesota? Zach LaVine: I had a lot of good vets. I came in the league really young at 19 years old, and a couple of my vets were Kevin Garnett, I had Mo Williams, Corey Brewer, Ricky Rubio, who wasn't crazy old at that point, and Thaddeus Young, one of my best friends in the league. They always told me to work, and I was already a really good worker. Sam Mitchell pushed you. Flip Saunders took a chance on a kid at UCLA. They just said, stay in the gym, stay hungry, and never, really, never put a cap on what you're able to do. If you're going out there and you have 25 points, don't be satisfied with that. The next game, go out there and try to get 30. If you make 10 shots in a row in practice, you shouldn't be satisfied like, "Oh, OK, that's good enough." Always try to push the limits of your abilities.
Hassan O: Former Raptors Forward Thad Young didn't like living in Toronto: "I ain't gon lie, being in Toronto is kinda tough...It's cool to visit, be there for 4-5 days that's cool but to live there, yea it's tough...It's almost like you in a disadvantage..." [via @OutTheMudTL ]
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Thaddeus Young: I tell young kids all the time: the easy part is getting there. The hard part is staying, especially now. The league is getting younger every year. That’s why I’m sitting at home without a job right now. They’re trying to get younger. They don’t want to take a guy like me—even though I’m not old—but I understand the business, the process. I get what they’re doing."*
Thaddeus Young: But me? I walked straight in. I didn’t even give Coach much time to talk. I just said, 'Coach, I appreciate you. Thank you for the opportunity, but I think it’s time to start my professional career. Goodbye.' Just like that. He was like, 'Well, man, you’re not going to be a high first-round pick.' And I was like, 'What?' Me and Coach fell out over that. I felt like he didn’t have confidence in me. He told me, ‘I talked to 20 GMs, and they’re saying you’ll go anywhere from 25 to 30.’ I said, ‘Man, they got to see me in these workouts. When they do, there’s no hiding.’ I was confident in myself. So why didn’t he have that same confidence in me?
Thaddeus Young: Man, that moment, hearing my name called, celebrating with my family—all the people who had been with me through the journey—it was unreal. I ain’t gonna lie, I was soft that night. I cried like a baby. I remember running to my mom—God rest her soul—just hugging her, over and over. That was the one person I always wanted to make sure was good because she always made sure I was good. I saw her sacrifice, I saw her work. From the time I was a baby, she took care of me and instilled everything in me. Same with my dad—our relationship was strong—but my mom, that was the person I was with every day. That was the person I watched struggle and push through everything for me. I don’t think she fully realized what was happening in that moment. She was smiling, happy, crying. But when it really hit, she got weak at the knees. It was like one of those moments where you just say, 'Mama, hold me.' It was crazy, man.
In a recent interview on the 2100 Podcast, Thaddeus Young rejected the idea that his playing career is over although he is not currently on an NBA roster. “I’m enjoying everything. I’ve enjoyed everything that the league has had to offer and (I’m) still enjoying it to this day. Still enjoy playing the game. I’m still working out and training, getting myself ready for a season, even though I’m not on roster right now, but still getting myself ready because, you know, one of these teams might, might say, oh, we need a vet, or we need somebody else. I might get that phone call.”
Thaddeus Young: “I’m literally training three, four hours a day, keeping myself in shape, making sure that I’m, you know, when the team calls, I’m ready to go. If this team needs me to come and work out, I’m ready to go. If the team needs me to show up and be ready on that same day, I’ll be ready to go and step in.”
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Jae Crowder, Dāvis Bertāns, Danilo Gallinari, former Sixer Thaddeus Young, and Philly native Lamar Stevens are among a free-agent pool of power forwards the Sixers can pick from. Sources have said the team had some level of interest in Bertāns.
Duane Rankin: Frank Vogel sees Thaddeus Young backup to Jusuf Nurkic, Drew Eubanks at 5. With small ball, likes Kevin Durant 5 with Royce O'Neale, Eric Gordon in lineup. "If we have injuries to one of our small ball options or to one of our centers, then he becomes extremely valuable." #Suns pic.twitter.com/oyhwMhHACe
Frank Vogel sees Thaddeus Young backup to Jusuf Nurkic, Drew Eubanks at 5.
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 19, 2024
With small ball, likes Kevin Durant 5 with Royce O'Neale, Eric Gordon in lineup.
"If we have injuries to one of our small ball options or to one of our centers, then he becomes extremely valuable." #Suns pic.twitter.com/oyhwMhHACe
Gerald Bourguet: Suns have officially signed Thaddeus Young. He'll wear No. 30. Statement from James Jones: “Thad is a highly respected veteran player who makes us a better team in our pursuit of winning an NBA Championship. Thad is extremely intelligent and plays with a competitive intensity."
Duane Rankin: Thaddeus Young is expected to sign with Phoenix Suns within the next couple of days and be with the team for Thursday's game at Dallas Mavericks coming out of #NBAAllStar2024 break, sources inform @azcentral . #Suns