TORONTO — Monitoring, chasing and keeping tabs on him for years, the Toronto Raptors can, at long last, say veteran forward Thaddeus Young is one of theirs.
"Thaddeus is a known commodity around the NBA," Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said. "For us, we’ve followed him for a while. We’ve made a few attempts to get him via trade in prior years. We felt like this was a good situation where we’re bringing him into Toronto."
Young arrives in Toronto as the Raptors' lone acquisition on what was a busy NBA trade deadline day around the NBA on Thursday.
The Raptors acquired Young and a 2022 second-round pick from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for guard Goran Dragic and a protected first-round pick in this year's draft, the team announced.
Spurs forward Drew Eubanks was also acquired by Toronto in the transaction, but he was waived by the team immediately.
The 33-year-old Young is a versatile forward capable of playing and defending multiple positions.
"We think this is a good situation where he really complements the core," said Webster of Young. "He kind of complements more than tries to substitute what they’re doing. Part of the philosophy for us was maintaining and respecting what this group was doing, and (figuring out) how we can add to it."
"We like that ability to switch, he's disruptive, has good hands and then on offence I think he's a smart player," Webster later added. He can pass a little, he kind of knows where to be."
In 26 games played with the Spurs this season, Young is averaging 6.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
He's primarily come off the bench this season and should help shore up a Raptors second unit that's struggled this season, ranking last in bench scoring.
Raptors forward OG Anunoby was a member of Young's AAU team for a couple years as a high schooler. The pair, to this day, maintain a strong relationship with on another.
"We definitely put a priority on that," Webster said of locker room cohesion with the team. "You're seeing (that) with Thaddeus being able to come in and fit into the locker room, but also be a leader as opposed to bringing in a completely new personality or energy."
Dragic, 35, came to the Raptors from the Miami Heat as part of the Kyle Lowry trade. He only played five games as he began the season out of Toronto head coach Nick Nurse's rotation, then was granted a leave of absence in late November.
San Antonio is expected to buy Dragic out.
The Raptors appeared to keep flexibility in their deadline dealings this year.
Young was brought in, but his contract will expire at the end of the season. Additionally, the picks that Toronto swapped essentially just moved them down the board in this year's draft.
The second-round pick the Raptors acquired is originally from the Detroit Pistons, meaning the pick Toronto acquired will likely be in the early second round. Toronto did give up a first-rounder, but given how well the Raptors have performed this season, it's likely to convey outside of the lottery.
The 2022 NBA draft isn't expected to be a very strong one, so Webster and the Raptors front office believe they'll be getting approximate value by picking early in the second round to late in the first.
"That’s the value play here," said Webster. "You slide a little bit in the draft and you pick up a player that you think is gonna help you. Historically, it’s an area in the draft where we’ve operated in the past. Realistically, we don’t see a ton of incremental change between those picks."
Waiving Eubanks was also a deliberate move from Toronto's front office.
By releasing the 25-year-old, the Raptors opened up another roster spot for themselves that they can use in various ways, including going after a player in the buyout market, converting a two-way player, such as Justin Champagnie, to a full contract, bring in a G League call-up or even just play the 10-day contract game and try guys out.
Any move Toronto makes with that opened up spot should also keep the team below the luxury tax line.
Webster said he was receiving offers to take on additional salary, but those deals ended up falling through.
The Raptors are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, sporting a 30-23 record.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2022.
Steven Loung, The Canadian Press
