>
>Thaddeus Young
>Power forward | Unrestricted free agent | Age: 31
>
>OK, OK: I’m aware that focusing on a fill-in-the-blanks
>power forward on the wrong side of 30 who’s averaged 15
>points per game only three times in 12 pro seasons removes all
>doubt about how thoroughly washed I am. But that doesn’t
>mean I’m wrong! Young is good, and probably better than you
>think.
>
>The 6-foot-8, 221-pound forward is about as reliable as it
>gets. He has missed two games in the past two seasons and
>played in 73 or more in each of the past seven. He’s a
>dependable, versatile defender with the quickness to slide
>with guards and swingmen in space and the bulk to bang down
>low; save for Leonard’s work in the Eastern Conference
>finals, nobody’s done a better job of checking newly minted
>MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the past few years than Young.
>
>Young makes his mark in the areas we often overlook. He keeps
>plays alive and ranks 10th among big-minute forwards in
>offensive rebound rate since coming into the league in 2007.
>He uses his length and quick hands to disrupt opposing
>offenses, ranking fifth in that group in steal percentage over
>that same period and finishing third in the league in
>deflections last season. He’s not an elite scorer, but he
>can bull his way to the basket and get you a bucket in the
>post. He’s not a playmaking stretch-4, but he can make the
>extra pass and hit a 3 off the catch. He’s a valued
>locker-room leader who has, just about every season, made his
>team better whenever he’s on the floor. Teams with a hole at
>the 4 could do a hell of a lot worse than looking to fill it
>with Young, a plug-and-play starter who does just about
>everything at a B or B-plus level.
>
>Friendly suggestion: Jazz (if they move on from Derrick
>Favors), Celtics (if Al Horford’s out the door), Nuggets (if
>they decline Paul Millsap’s $30 million option)


>
>Tomas Satoransky
>Point guard | Restricted free agent | Age: 27
>
>Trying to sign another team’s restricted free agent is
>always a dicey proposition. Having your cap space tied up for
>two days while the incumbent team decides how to play things
>can mean missing out on other opportunities to improve your
>team, and if that team decides to match your offer sheet, you
>wind up with bupkis to show for it beyond maybe building some
>goodwill with an agent. If you’re going to target a
>restricted type to poach, though, it makes sense to go after a
>guard on a team that has already maxed out two of them.
>Washington will pay $65.2 million for John Wall and Bradley
>Beal next year, despite only one of them being able to play,
>and that number will only go up in the years to come. As a
>result, a Wizards front office still without a long-term GM
>might blanch at the idea of flirting with the luxury tax to
>lock in a third guard.
>
>Despite that third-guard billing, Satoransky has proved
>capable of handling a lead role in the NBA. He made 84 starts
>in place of an injured Wall during the past two seasons and
>put up strong numbers in his stead, averaging 10.6 points, 6.1
>assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 31.8 minutes per
>game, with 50/44/83 shooting splits. He’s not a top-shelf
>individual shot creator and is much more likely to shoot off
>the catch than off a live dribble, which can limit the amount
>of pressure he puts on a defense in the half court. But he’s
>a steady hand with good vision who makes smart decisions with
>the ball. He tied for 12th in the league in assist-to-turnover
>ratio in 2018-19, and is a bona fide glue guy who knows how to
>run a team unselfishly. (Never forget: #EverybodyEats.) At
>6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, he’s got the size to help plug gaps
>defensively at either guard spot, and the smarts to be in the
>right spot in the team scheme more often than not.
>
>Satoransky’s no star, but he’s solid, and at a position as
>critical as the point, that matters. Maybe, with Wall out of
>the picture for the foreseeable future and few other bankable
>ball handlers and movers in the mix, Washington can’t afford
>to lose him. But with the tax looming, an offer sheet with
>some teeth could force the Wiz to swallow hard and part ways
>with a high-floor table-setter who can also do damage spotting
>up.
>
>Friendly suggestion: Pacers, Suns, Magic
>