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The Memphis Grizzlies are sending small forward Sam Young to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the rights to 2005 draft pick Ricky Sanchez in our first deal of deadline day. These two teams worked together to complete a deal earlier this season when Philly send big man Marreese Speights to the Grizzlies in a three-team deal. Another one of the Grizzlies early season trades set up this move as Quincy Pondexter, who was acquired from the New Orleans Hornets had taken most of Sam Young’s minutes, relegating him to the bench.

76ers coach Doug Collins recently promoted shooting guard Evan Turner to the starting line-up, forcing Collins to put some pretty small line-ups on the floor with his second unit. Young has good size at six-foot-six and gives Collins another wing piece that he toy around with. When Jodie Meeks isn’t knocking down the outside jumper he can be tough to find minutes for and getting Young as a fallback option was a good idea for Philly. Young is a pretty good defender and should fit in well with Philly’s defensive culture. On offense Young likes to play in the mid-range and he’s effective from there, though Philly is already over-reliant on mid-range jumpers right now.

This is a low-risk move for the Sixers and management did a good job finding someone that fit one of their holes that didn’t cost much. This move also clears cap space for Memphis which means they can now sign free agent guard Gilbert Arenas. I’m hearing that the team has interest in doing that.

The Chase Down Block Chris Berry Interactive Chris Berry Interactive