Howard Smith – USA Today Sports Images
It’s pretty clear that the 2012-2013 NBA season for the Philadelphia 76ers wasn’t what they expected. After bringing in Andrew Bynum in the off-season, they thought they had a franchise center. Instead what they got was a center that didn’t play a game this season and became more of a nuisance than anything to the organization. The absence of Bynum is obviously the biggest reason the Sixers finished the season with a record of 34-48.
As they enter this off-season, they have a lot of decisions to make regarding which players that will become free agents they will re-sign. The biggest decision of these is whether they will bring Bynum back again, despite all of the melodrama and injury-risk that he brings. However, other players that played large roles for the Sixers this season will become free agents as well. One of these players is Nick Young.
Over his six-year career, Young has deservedly earned the reputation as a gunner that is either on-fire or ice-cold, with no in-between. If he comes into the game and is knocking down jumpers, he can easily carry a team to victory. Just as easily, though, Young can shoot a team out of a game if he’s not on.
Young didn’t play particularly well for the 76ers this season. In 59 games he averaged 23.9 minutes per game and averaged only 10.6 points per game on just 41.3 percent shooting from the field and 35.7 percent shooting. He also continued to show no conscience on offense, jacking up shots whenever he was on the floor no matter how he was playing.
The problem with keeping Young on the Sixers is that Young’s skill-set really doesn’t mesh with where Philadelphia currently is as a franchise. The 76ers are likely going to be starting a minor rebuilding process based around Jrue Holiday, which means they probably won’t be much of a contender next year. Young’s trigger-happy offensive game and streaky shooting is more suited to a contender that needs lightning in a bottle off of the bench every once in a while, not a team looking to rebuild.
Given Young’s ineffectiveness this past season and the fact that he doesn’t really jive with where the Sixers are as an organization, Philadelphia shouldn’t bring him back for next season and should let him land elsewhere in free agency. Young, despite his antics and obvious flaws, has obvious value in the NBA, just not with this team.
Cody Williams is a Senior NBA Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
