THE FLATS – Two excellent stories on Thaddeus Young’s impact on his current team in Toronto and in his hometown of Memphis … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
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YOUNG’S IMPACT ON RAPTORS WILL OUTLAST HIS TENURE
From the stands or the television, you sometimes can’t help but want to scream to the defender. Thaddeus Young has the ball in the post one of the two or three times that happens per night. You know where this is going.
Young is going to his right shoulder, shooting with his left hand. No matter how many times he might dribble the other way, no matter how many times he might suggest he is going to flip one up with his right mitt, 99 out of 100 times, that’s not going to happen. He is going to try to get back to his left hand and toss in a short push or hook shot. If you know this in the arena, the scouting report surely details this.
“My whole career I’ve been able to get to my left,” Young said. “Nobody’s been able to stop me, so why stop now?”
This has been the enduring lesson that Young has imparted to his younger teammates on the Raptors. Ultimately, talent and fit win the NBA, so Ujiri and Bobby Webster shouldn’t be given a pass on that one. Young helped the Raptors withstand O.G. Anunoby’s fractured finger last year and has been solid in spot duty this season, but he is on the periphery of the rotation for a team that badly needs more productive bench minutes. The Raptors gave him a two-year contract in the offseason, but next year’s salary is guaranteed for only $1 million. The Raptors might need to waive him to remain financially flexible heading into the offseason.
With that said, Young’s impact on his younger teammates could help the Raptors for years to come. We won’t know it, because there’s no way to precisely measure what a veteran teammate passes on successfully. There can be testimonials but not metrics. At this rate, Young’s second-most memorable moment as a Raptor might end up being his caught-on-tape halftime disagreement with Scottie Barnes. (What’s at the top? Come on now.)
Thad Young just ended Joel Embiid and the Raptors bench is all of us 💀#WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/DCGASnA1eh
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) April 23, 2022
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WHY YOUNG MAINTAINS HIS TIES TO TROUBLED MEMPHIS
Thaddeus Young has his job in Toronto, lives in Dallas, and was born in New Orleans. But Memphis is where he’s from.
It’s where he learned the nuances of his crafty, in-between game that has served him well through 16 NBA seasons and counting, and where he developed his identity as a player and person.
He maintains a residence in the mid-South city known for music, basketball, and soul food. It’s also where civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, felled by a sniper while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel not far from the bright lights of Beale Street where B.B. King played the blues.
But it’s a city with challenges. It’s been recognized in recent years as the most dangerous and poverty-stricken metropolitan areas in the United States, and has been in the news recently following the beating death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father and FedEx employee, by local police after a traffic stop.
Memphis is a city that needs a helping hand.
It’s why Young has kept his ties here, professionally, and personally, even as his career has taken him to Georgia for college and stops in Philadelphia, Indiana, Chicago, San Antonio and now Toronto as a pro. He considers it home.
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BIG MAN DEVOE?
From CBSSports.com: Michael Devoe finished with 14 points (4-9 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes during Friday’s 123-114 loss to the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Devoe did a solid job holding down the middle for Ontario, finishing with a block while also showcasing his offensive ability, scoring in the double-digits on an efficient clip. Expect him to continue to play at a solid level as one of the primary big men for Ontario.
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