NBA Free Agents 2011: Thaddeus Young Nearing Deal with Philadelpia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers had a dilemma on their hands with restricted free-agent Thaddeus Young, but instead of waiting for him to sign an offer sheet somewhere and match it, the Sixers elected to skip that step all together.

The two sides have come together on a new deal and all signs indicate that Young will be returning to Philadelphia.

The club was nervous about another team possibly coming in with a big deal; now by agreeing to a deal they have nothing to worry about.

That team could have been the Denver Nuggets, who were rumored to really have liked Young.

Young and head coach Doug Collins have a good relationship and he should be able to build off the 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game that he averaged a season ago.

It's quite possible that with Young back in the fold, the Sixers could once again pursue the option of dealing Andre Iguodala, which would free up more minutes for Young. Young is just too talented to be coming off the bench regularly and the more minutes he receives, the more he will produce.

The Magic could be a logical destination for Iguodala, whose name pops into trade rumors almost monthly. He's one of the guys that Dwight Howard has asked Orlando to acquire so eventually maybe an Iguodala rumor may one day have some real legs.

In the meantime though, it looks like the Sixers got their guy in Young.