Joe Young is looking at another year of not playing with Cory Joseph acquisition

It’s hard not to feel bad for Joe Young. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 43rd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and it looked like he was going to come in and contribute right away.

In fact, former Pacers head coach Frank Vogel named Young the team’s backup point guard prior to the 2015-2016 season. Young was a DNP-CD in eight of the first ten games of that year.

Young did have a nice little run during his rookie year, though, when George Hill was out due to personal reasons. Through a three game stretch in January, Young averaged 14 points and 6.6 assists per game. He had some great chemistry going with Myles Turner.

It didn’t get any easier for Young during his second season, as the Pacers signed Aaron Brooks as the team’s backup point guard. Even when Brooks fell out of the rotation due to poor play, Young wasn’t the beneficiary. Young played in 33 games, averaging just 4.1 minutes per game.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

As noted earlier, Young was the only point guard on the roster heading into free agency. It looked like it would be his time. Until the Pacers signed Darren Collison and traded for Cory Joseph. Now, Young is the third string point guard. Even if Darren or Cory has to miss any games, Lance Stephenson could easily play some backup point.

What does this mean for Joe Young’s future with the Pacers? His spot wasn’t fully guaranteed for this year until July 1, being Indiana could have kicked him to the curb. The team can cut him next summer as well if they exercise the team option. If he continues to sit on the bench, why would the Pacers keep him? Unfortunately, Young may have to fight his way onto a roster if the Pacers part ways with him in the future.

Next: Paul George felt the championship window was closing

He just turned 25 years old and has obvious scoring potential, but he hasn’t been able to showcase it much in Indiana. Besides in summer league, of course. That’s when Joey Buckets is at his best. All we can do is hope for the best for Joe Young.