Thad Young and Myles Turner will head up the Pacers’ frontcourt next season.
Larry Bird continues to be active in building a stronger team for next season.
The Pacers have traded for veteran power forward Thaddeus Young, a league source confirmed to VigilantSports.com, just five hours before tonight’s NBA Draft. In exchange, it will cost them their first-round pick: No. 20.
The trade was first reported by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“He’s a cool dude,” one of Young’s former teammates wrote in a text to VigilantSports.com. “Plays his ass off. Good teammate too.”
See Also: Pacers 2016 Draft Primer
One day after getting their point guard of the future in Jeff Teague via trade, the Pacers found an attractive deal to land their starting power forward for at least the next two seasons ahead of what will be a wild free agency.
The rebuilding Brooklyn Nets, meanwhile, now have a first-round pick.
Looking forward to new journeys with the @Pacers and the fans. Can't wait to get started.
— THAD YOUNG (@yungsmoove21) June 23, 2016
Following the two deals the Pacers have made over the last 24 hours, which won’t be completed until July for cap purposes, their starting lineup might look like this:
Jeff Teague, Monta Ellis, Paul George, Thad Young, Myles Turner.
Young — a 6-foot-8, 221-pound forward — is under contract for the next three seasons with a player option for the 2018-19 season. He has a 15-percent trade kicker worth approximately $3.75 million, which Brooklyn will be responsible for, according to former longtime Nets executive Bobby Marks.
Young’s cap hit then for the Pacers will be $14.1 million for the 2016-17 season, a great value as the NBA’s salary cap is expected to skyrocket to $94 million in July.
Over his nine-year career, spending the first seven seasons in Philadelphia, Young has averaged 13.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and shot 49.7 percent from the floor. Last season in Brooklyn, he tallied 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest.
Thad Young rocking a Pacers hat on the same day he got moved here. Impressive. (Via @Mrs__Young30) pic.twitter.com/yLO6JEL4Bz
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 24, 2016