NBA Free Agents: Sixers Want Thaddeus Young In Philadelphia

Thaddeus Young came off the bench for the Sixers last season, but he was such a tough matchup for the opposing second units that he enters 2011 NBA free agency as one of the best wing targets in a relatively lean free agent market.

Philadelphia is committed to keeping Young, who is part of a developing, youthful core that made a semi-surprising trip to the playoffs a year ago. But it appears Young could still be poached for the right price -- which is to say: the wrong price. 76ers team president Rod Thorn talked about bringing Young back, as long as the Sixers didn't have to overpay him their restricted free agent to match an unreasonable offer from another team (via Philadelphia Inquirer's Kate Fagan)

"As far as we're concerned, Thad is a key player for us. He's a player that I think really took advantage of the coaching he got from Doug and the other coaches and really came back to where he was two years ago and built on that. We love Thad. All things being [equal] ... let's say we don't sign him but somebody else does. As long as it's reasonable, we'll definitely match it. He's a key guy for us. We need him. And we definitely want to have him back.

"Anytime there is money to be spent, you're worried. And there were so many teams under the cap and a lot of them substantially and particularly when you factor in the ability to amnesty a player -- that brings even more teams into play. I've been through this too many times. You like to say that a player is going to get between here and here (salary-wise), but it only takes one team. So you never know. You never say, 'We're going to sign this particular guy for this.' Because you never know."

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