The 76ers have acquired Sam Young from the Grizzlies, reports Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. Memphis receives the rights to former second-rounder Ricky Sanchez, who is currently playing in Argentina, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Sixers confirmed the move in a press release.
"Sam preferred another location because he wasn’t playing," Memphis GM Chris Wallace told Tillery. "Sam earned his keep around here and is clearly an NBA player. He was a guy who was a big part of us being able to be successful when Rudy Gay went down last year. But teams evolve."
The move isn't entirely unexpected for Memphis, since the team had been sitting barely above the luxury tax line. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported yesterday that the Grizzlies were looking to move Young to sneak below that threshold. Sanchez, who was drafted with the 35th overall pick in 2005, "will never wear a Grizzlies uniform," according to Tillery. Tillery also points out (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies could use the savings to pursue Gilbert Arenas.
For the Sixers, they'll likely take on Young's salary using part of the traded player exception they acquired when they dealt Marreese Speights to Memphis earlier this season. Young's cap figure for this season, the final year of his contract, is $947,800.
In 21 games for the Grizzlies this year, Young has played just 11.4 MPG, averaging 3.5 PPG and 10.6 PER.