Thaddeus Young is the Indiana Pacers ‘old man’ and leader

The Indiana Pacers shed much of their veteran talent this offseason, but Thad Young is now the voice of experience.

Myles Turner is the captain now, but Thad Young is the voice of experience on the Indiana Pacers. With 10 years of NBA experience and a game that’s quietly above average, he is one of the few players left on the roster that possesses both the ability and the history to demand respect.

Yes, Al Jefferson is older and more experienced, but since he spent the end of the season out of shape and out of the rotation, he doesn’t have the clout currently to tell anyone what to do. Young was a leader by example as played through an injury last season, putting the team first. He wasn’t a player questioned over issues of heart and effort.

Leadership is manifested on and off the court, but let’s not forget that he contributed plenty to the team on it. One of the highlights of his season came on a game-winning shot over the Washington Wizards. Thad cleared his own path to the basket and knocked down a difficult shot to avoid overtime. I’d call that clutch.

I’m going to throw some shade here… WHERE WAS THAT WHEN WE NEEDED IT PAUL GEORGE, HUH?

Young’s defense helped reinforce the frontcourt and his contributions on the starters went under the radar until his wrist injury exposed both his effect on the lineup and the Pacers’ lack of depth.

As far as numbers go, he averaged 11 points and 6.1 rebounds while knocking down 52.7% of his shots. This came in a season where he saw the ball less than any time in his career, but you didn’t hear any complaints from Young.

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Regardless of a leadership role, it is a good sign that Thad and Myles paired well together last season. Outside of their known weaknesses, it is hard to complain too much about Indiana’s frontcourt. As a duo, they should give the Pacers a solid foundation to build off of this season

While it was something we expected but wasn’t talked about until the rumors of Paul George leaving became an open secret, leadership was lacking within the Pacers.

According to Tom Lewis of Indy Cornrows, neither Myles or Thad was shy to point that out.

"“The summer workouts have been great, the energy has been the biggest thing I feel like we’ll bring this year,” Turner said. “A lot different than years past.“In years past, the vets, they were here but their voice didn’t resonate too well in the locker room. I feel like that’s something that’s going to change this year.But as Young pointed out, part of changing the Pacers’ culture this year is to empower everyone to have a voice in a much more positive environment.“The situation that was circling around certain guys on our team last year, we don’t have that hanging around here,“ Young said. “We can just go out and play with a focus on this season and do the things that we need to do, that’s the biggest thing for us now is just to figure it out as a team.”"

Myles speaking up, in particular, is very encouraging. In the past, he spoke about taking a leadership role, but with as many veterans in front of him, he still was far from being the king of the castle. He had his moments, but the Pacers weren’t his team to command.

But while Turner is the face of the team, Thad’s decade of experience and place in the starting lineup speaks loudly. Even if Myles is in command, he will look to Young for guidance. He’s got 10 years of NBA experience and at age 29, he still has a handful of good seasons left.

Next: Victor Oladipo isn’t feeling pressure to replace Paul George

While Young likely can fetch a decent return on the trade market, keeping him around to guide Turner holds its own value. Unless Thaddeus Young wants a better opportunity to win elsewhere, the Indiana Pacers should make him feel at home.