The Sixers knew it was unlikely they would make a splash, but were looking to solidify their bench before the NBA trade deadline arrived at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
When Evan Turner moved into the starting lineup five games ago, the perimeter reserve unit took a significant hit. The team believes it fixed that by acquiring a 6-foot-6 wing player in Sam Young from the Memphis Grizzlies.
"He's got toughness and started in the playoffs last year for a very, very good team," Doug Collins said. "And really he became the odd man out with Tony Allen started playing. They got Rudy Gay back and they like Quincy Pondexter. So we thought it was a great chance for us to get a guy who has tough defense, size and experience -- all the things we are looking for down the stretch."
During the summers, Thaddeus Young makes Memphis one of his homes and as a result has played against Sam Young in the Memphis Pro-Am League. He welcomes the second Young, who is no relation.
"He is definitely going to be a focal point of that second unit with me and Lou Williams," Young said. "Him being traded here is definitely a plus for him. Sam is a tough guy who is definitely going to go out there and play hard. He is a hound on the basketball. He is also a physical presence inside and he is not going to let guys post him up and he is a big body on the wing. Jodie Meeks is great, but the guys he is guarding are 6-5 to 6-8. They're bigger and taller so we have to try and match up."
Sam Young was a second round draft pick in 2009 out of the University of Pittsburgh. He is in the final year of his contract and he is making less than 1 million. A year ago, he averaged 20 minutes, but that dropped to 11 per game this year with the second-year Pondexter, who has similar size, getting more minutes with the Grizzlies.
The past couple years, the Sixers have made seemingly innocuous trades that ultimately proved to have real impacts. Some immediately, some took a little time.
NBA
In December, 2007, the Sixers traded reliable three-point shooter Kyle Korver to Utah for a guy who played 12 games here (Gordan Giricek) and a draft pick. The real impact came in Thaddeus Young getting consistent minutes and 22 starts the remainder of his rookie season. Now, Thad Young has arguably been the Sixers' most consistent player as the Sixers continue to lead the division.
Two years ago, Milwaukee had given up on rookie Jodie Meeks. At the deadline, the Bucks sent him the Sixers' way. Here was a player who averaged 12 minutes in 60 games as a rookie, but with the Sixers joined the starting lineup for 102 games over the last two years and saw his minutes per game more than double.
Meeks served a great purpose as a starter, with his ability to stretch the floor. He can still do that as a reserve, just with shorter playing spurts because of a crowded perimeter.
For Sam Young, the Sixers used the trade exception that they acquired when sending Marreese Speights to the Grizzlies in early January. They also sent the rights to Ricky Sanchez, whom Sixers acquired in a September 2007 trade that brought Reggie Evans to Philadelphia from Denver, in exchange for Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones.
Sam Young will likely arrive on Friday, though it is unknown if Collins will use him Friday night against the Heat.
With Young the Sixers now have 14 guys on their roster. A team can carry up to 15, but only 13 can dress per game.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com