Pacers’ forward Thaddeus Young has exercised his $13.7MM player option and will bypass free agency this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Young, 30, strongly considered becoming a free agent this offseason, but given the lack of cap space around the NBA, is opting to remain in Indiana for at least another season after averaging 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 81 contests during the 2017/18 campaign.
The Pacers, who could still enter free agency with as much as $20MM in salary cap space, were reported earlier today to have interest in restricted free agent Aaron Gordon. However, Gordon is apparently seeking the maximum salary, so the Pacers likely won’t have the cap space to accommodate the type of offer Gordon is seeking absent a roster move or two.
After Young’s decision, the top-remaining player option decisions now belong to LeBron James, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, and Enes Kanter. Those four players have until tomorrow to make a decision.
Booo
This guy really wanted that last LT contract coming off a very good year. There isn’t a lot of cap space around the league, but there is almost none among the teams that might be interested in a guy his age.
Young is a good solid player, like him, hopefully he gets what he deserves.