After the Sixers made their second trade with the Memphis Grizzlies this season (how soon you forget Speezy), this time for Sam Young, it felt natural to get a Grizz fan perspective on the forward out of Pitt. I hadn't seen too much of him since he played at the Petersen Events Center, so I turned to Tom Lorenzo from our aptly named SB Nation Grizzlies blog Straight Outta Vancouver for some words on Samwise.
And here's what he said........
I think the first thing that needs to be said about Sam Young is that he's a better ball player than his 2011-12 numbers would indicate. That said, he's probably no better than 7.3/2.5/0.8 ball player he was in his first two seasons in the league. Young is a bit limited in that he can do offensively, namely in shooting long jumpers. On the glass, we've seen him have his moments where you think he can become one of the better rebounding wings in the league, but he hasn't been all that consistent. Thus, leading to some mediocre moments. On defense, he fits into that neat category of guys who do more on the court than box score would indicate. He's not a shut-down defender by any means, a-la Tony Allen, but he does have good size, long arms and he'll get to his spots. I think the best way to put it is that I wouldn't call him a defensive wing, but the dude can play defense. Make sense?
In our playoff run last year, Young filled that quiet, yet efficient role in replacing Rudy Gay. Again, he was a fit, not a deficiency, but he almost neutralized the situation. I think one thing to say about him was that his best two games (Games 2 and 5 against the Spurs) both resulted in losses for the Grizzlies -- the only two games we lost in that series. Meaning, we didn't need Young to play like Rudy Gat for us to beat the Spurs in 6 games and take the Thunder to 7 in the next round. That kind of speaks to his role on this team. He's not a need, but he's a useful piece. Essentially, Philly fans, you're getting a good hustle guy, who's a bit old for his age (he'll be 27 this year, and he's only in his 3rd season in the league), and who will essentially neutralize the game -- he won't present a mis-match, but he's also won't result in one either.
Hey, he was a good guy to have around. With all of that said, we'll definitely miss him here in Memphis.
So there you have it. Jordan is not quite as high on the deal as I am, and I certainly wouldn't consider myself high on anything. It's unquestionably, in my opinion, a good move for essentially nothing and will do nothing but give the Sixers a guy to spell Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner from time to time. Nothing wrong with that.
Here's my response to his questions about former "Sixer" Ricky Sanchez:
uh
On a scale from 1 to Dana Barros, let me know how excited you are about the new acquisition.