Philadelphia 76ers: Potential Fallouts If Thaddeus Young Signs Elsewhere

Once the NBA lockout ends, the Philadelphia 76ers will find themselves in a difficult situation.

They won’t be big spenders in the unrestricted free-agent market, unless it involves a sign-and-trade deal.

They don’t have any unrestricted free agents of their own who will require swift action in order to keep them as part of the team. And they don’t have a new head coach who will have a short amount of time to familiarize himself with his new team.

But what they do have is the curious case of Thaddeus Young.

In most cases it is a seemingly foregone conclusion that a restricted free agent will remain with their current team, whether it’s through a new contract or through their franchise matching any outside offers.

But Young’s return to the Sixers is anything but a foregone conclusion.

The 23-year-old averaged 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and one assist per game last season while averaging 26 minutes a night.

He also led the Sixers in scoring in two of the team’s five first round playoff games against the Miami Heat.

What may be Young’s biggest weakness to the Sixers, besides his defensive play, may be his most valuable asset to another team:

Young does not have a true position.

For the Sixers, this makes finding minutes for a number of their young players a complicated task.

For a possible contending team with money to spend, this makes Young an intriguing option once the lockout is lifted.

So if a team makes Young an offer that is too steep for the Sixers to match, what are the potential fallouts that the young team may experience this season?

For one, the Sixers bench will take a major blow.

Young finished third in last season’s Sixth Man of the Year award voting behind Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks.

Although he started just one game, Young still appeared in all 82 games last season; Jrue Holiday is the only other Sixer who played in every game.

Young’s minutes and points per game average were the fifth-highest on the team, while his rebounding total was good enough for fourth-best.

After Young, Lou Williams and Evan Turner saw the most minutes among the Sixers' reserve players.

Following these players, it was Marreese Speights who provided the team with the most minutes off the bench, but chances are his 5.4 ppg from last season will not replace Young’s contributions.

Another potential fallout from Young signing elsewhere has to do with Andre Iguodala.

The Sixers have already seemingly flip-flopped as far as whether they are going to trade Iguodala, but if Young signs an offer sheet too lucrative for the team to match, a decision regarding Iguodala’s future may be much easier to make.

If the Sixers lose Young, they cannot afford to lose Iguodala as well.

Ideally, the team would enjoy seeing Holiday, Young, Iguodala, Evan Turner and Jodie Meeks provide a young nucleus on which future success can be built.

If Young and Iguodala are no longer part of the equation, the success achieved last season could be all but gone.

With Young, the Sixers can afford to trade Iguodala in order to acquire help at the center position, or simply salary cap relief.

Without Young, the Sixers will have to rely heavily on Turner and hope that his play is much improved from his rookie season.

Also, without Young, the Sixers will experience a significant drop-off at the power forward position after Elton Brand.

Last season was the first in which Brand has posted decent numbers since joining Philadelphia in 2008, averaging 15 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game last season.

After Brand, the team has been able to utilize Young at the power forward position; after Young, the team has Craig Brackins and Lavoy Allen—not an overly inspiring cast.

The Sixers and fans alike are counting on Brand to improve upon last year’s numbers and have back-to-back solid seasons for the first time since his 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 campaigns with the Clippers.

But if Brand was to take a step backward, and Young is not able to step in as a replacement, the Sixers frontcourt may go from weak to the league’s cellar.

Only the league’s most talented sixth men can affect their team’s productivity in multiple aspects.

And Young falls into that category.

Whether he plays under the same role he did last season by coming off the bench, steps in as a potential starter at small forward, or gives Brand time off, Young can play a large role in the Sixers' success going forward.

However, whether it’s by leaving Williams as the team’s best option off the bench, providing the team with few choices as far as how to move forward with Iguodala, or creating a hole after Brand at the power forward position, Young’s departure could result in potential fallouts that make even duplicating last season’s success too big of a task to complete.

Once the lockout ends, the Sixers and Young will have a decision to make as far as their future pairing.

And if last season was any indication, the future could be very bright for both.

As long as the two are moving forward together.