Thaddeus young

[LongLiveHinkie]

Prince was the other guy I had in mind besides Odom. The difference with Thad and Prince is, Thad has better moves down low and Prince is better with the ball in his hands.

[IggyTheBEaST]

Odom/Jamison - 3pt shooting

[philly10]

I see a healthier, more athletic and more efficient version of former sixer Jamal Mashburn. Compare their games at 19, Thad with the sixers and Jamal with the UK, very similar in my opinion.

[SendEm]

I see a healthier, more athletic and more efficient version of former sixer Jamal Mashburn. Compare their games at 19, Thad with the sixers and Jamal with the UK, very similar in my opinion.

Mashburn's handle was like 100,000 times better than Thad's. Mashburn is from the playgrounds of NYC his breakdown moves, crossover, and passing skills were elite. He was like D.Wade in a much bigger slower less agile body. Like many NYC players he couldn't shoot straight. He had million dollar one-on-one isolation moves but he would always miss. Pat Riley worked with him to improve his finishing ability but it just never materialized. But his turnaround jump shot that he developed later in his career was automatic.
With Thad's finishing ability if he awoke tomorrow with Mashburn's passing and ball handling skills he would be a top 5 player in the NBA overnight. Mashburn once scored 50 points on Scottie Pippen's defense. If he got hot no one in the NBA could do anything about it because he had so many moves and so much strength.

Let's hope that Thad truly turns into this sort of player but more efficient.

[Louis Williams]

I would say Prince is the type of player he could develop into. I think Prince is quietly one of the most complete players in the league, and it would be great if Young could be become that type of player. He has shown the ability to score inside and out, slash, rebound, defend, and hustle. He has a ways to go to get to Prince's level, but I think the potential is there.

[dbodner]

I'm not sure I see Young becoming the defender prince is. I think not only does Prince have that freakish length, but he moves his feet better than Young as well. I also think Prince was a better jumpshooter coming into the league (which admittedly is hard to compare since Prince was a 22 year old rookie).

[tk76]

What makes these comparisons difficult is how much Young will change in the next few years. He is a skinny kid with a great nose for the ball in the paint- but it looks like he has the frame to get big (remember the pics from HS->GT->NBA.)
Young likely will physically resemble Odom in a few years, and combine his nose for the ball with another 25lbs of bulk and he could be 10 RPG SF/PF like Odom and Jamison.

Young seems to have more of a scoring mentality than Odom (who always wanted to be Magic) and less of a pure jumper than Jamison. He also has yet to show any midrange skills other than a spot up jumper. It will be interesting to see where he gets his points as his skillset improves. Best case, I eventually see TMac type skills/mentality, without the preference to jack up 3's.

[sixerswillrule]

Hopefully Young has grown since coming into the league and/or is still growing. At the official draft measurement at draftexpress, he is listed as 6'5.75" without shoes.

[dbodner]

Hopefully Young has grown since coming into the league and/or is still growing. At the official draft measurement at draftexpress, he is listed as 6'5.75" without shoes.

It's been a year or two since someone played without shoes, I believe. He measured in at 6'7.5" with shoes (which is what NBA players are listed as, i.e. if it says Caron Butler is 6'7", that's 6'7" with shoes, he's probably about 6'5" without), and more importantly with an 8'10" standing reach.

[sixerswillrule]

The listings of with shoes are strange to me because there are increases in height from as little as 0.75 inches to as much as 2.25 inches. So I compare the listings of the players' heights without shoes to each other. Iguodala is listed as the same height as Young there. Of course, as I mentioned, Young probably has grown some since then and may still be growing.
Also, how can a taller player with a greater wingspan have a shorter standing reach(such as Jeff Green)?

[SendEm]

Also, how can a taller player with a greater wingspan have a shorter standing reach(such as Jeff Green)?

Wingspan includes the width of the chest and shoulders along with your outstretched arms. Standing reach is the measurement of upwards stretched arms down to your feet. A broad chest and shoulders do little for a standing reach. That's the reason why one person could have a wider wingspan and shorter standing reach than another person.

[tk76]

Iguodala is listed as the same height as Young there. Of course, as I mentioned, Young probably has grown some since then and may still be growing.

Young looks to be about 2" taller than Iguodala when they are standing next to each other.

[bballin76]

He has quickly become one of my favorite players in the league. His constant movement and hard work really impressed me this year. I just wanted to know what you guys thought about him?

Potential? (offensively, defensively, and overall)
Comparison?
Expectations for next year?
Areas of improvement?
Work ethic?

I personally believe he will be a star in this league, but I have not followed him as closely as you guys have, therefore your opinions will give me great insight as to the type of player he is and can potentially be. Thanks

Potential: Could be a multiple time All-Star, but I don't think he'll ever be a franchise player. He still has a lot of development to do before I'd trust him in the guts of the game to get a basket off his own shot creation.

Comparison: Tough call here. I think he's going to be a player in his own mold with similarities to several other peoples games. His stepback 3 pointer over Carmelo was really nice earlier this year, his left hook on the block is very reliable, and he really has a good nose for the ball. I can't quite place him for a comparison though. I can see some Prince, but the difference in body types really throws things for a loop.

Expectations for next year: Starting small forward with a solid mid-range game. I don't think he'll have a killer handle yet, so his perimeter playmaking may be pretty limited still. I'm hoping he tightens up his pull-up jumper from 18ft. I would say somewhere around 15-16pts a game with 5-6 boards would be nice. I'd like to see him garner more assists as well.

Work Ethic: From everything I've read and seen in his development during his rookie year, he really works hard and wants to succeed. He can be as good as he wants to be.