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INDIANAPOLIS – The most important piece to the Pacers’ 2018 off-season puzzle has decided to return to Indiana for another season.

After some indecision in recent weeks, Thaddeus Young will pick up his $13.7 player option for the 2018-19 season, which ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday evening, one day ahead of the deadline for Young’s player option decision.

Young returning means he will be playing with the Pacers for a third season and Indiana has its starting power forward back. Of course, if the Pacers do dip into the trade market, Young could be in the mix there, too.

Last season, Young didn’t miss a game due to injury last year, while averaging 11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds over 32.2 minutes per game.

The Pacers have said all off-season long that their hope was Young would return, particularly given how much more efficient the team was with their veteran forward on the court last season.

“I love Thad,” team president Kevin Pritchard said earlier this offseason. “He took a huge role for us in leadership and was amazing at that. I have very strong feelings for that. If you took Thad and took just his points and rebounds and all of that, you would say he’s a pretty good player. But then when you are around him and what he did with his leadership this year and made sure we stayed together, he brings an ordinate amount of value.

“I hope he’s found a home for the next couple of years. We hope that.”

Since Young’s arrival via trade to the Pacers in the summer of 2016, he’s seen his role evolve a bit in just two seasons.

The Pacers needed a more vocal Young last season, with so many new faces in the building, and the 11-year veteran provided that.

Young, who will now become a free agent in 2019, turned 30 years old last week.

With Young exercising his player option, the Pacers still have a decent amount of cap space to work with heading into free agency.

Not only do the Pacers retain a key piece in Young, they also avoid giving a 30-year old a multi-year deal, which would have kept him under contract through 2019. Next summer is where the free agent activity is supposed to ramp up, with a much better crop of FAs expected to hit the open market. Young playing in a contract year is an ideal situation for the Pacers.

Indiana should still have at least $10 million of cap space to use this July, if they part ways with Al Jefferson, and choose not to pick up the team option for Joe Young.

 

Pacers 2018 Offseason News

-June 21: Drafting of G-Aaron Holiday and F-Alize Johnson

-June 25: Declining of Lance Stephenson player option

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