Thaddeus Young says he wants to play for a contender amid usage drop with Spurs

Thaddeus Young was shocked to learn that he was being traded this past offseason when the Chicago Bulls, where he’d put together two effective seasons, acquired DeMar DeRozan and sent Young to the San Antonio Spurs.

Since then, Young has been among NBA trade rumors as a piece that could bolster a team looking for consistent inside scoring and a dominant rebounder.

In the latest episode of the “Posted Up with Chris Haynes” podcast, Young explained what he’s looking for at this point in his career as the unofficial trade season began Wednesday.

“With this organization and this franchise, we’re not in a contending situation,” Young said on “Posted Up.” “We’re gonna compete and we’re gonna try to contend and try to do things, but we’re in a rebuilding situation. With being in a rebuilding situation, that’s not ideal for a guy that just came off a really good season, going into his 15th season to going to another rebuild.

“I don’t mind playing through rebuilds and stuff like that, but the one thing about it is I’m not getting any younger. I’m getting older and at some point, I want to start contending for championships. I haven’t been in any situation where I’ve been able to contend for a championship. I want that feeling. I want that aspect of being able to go out there and being able to compete for a championship every single night. That’s the part that I really want to get to.”

The power forward, in his 15th season in the league, has seen his usage drop with the Spurs this season. After having a starting role in previous stops and averaging 30.2 minutes per game in his career, his role has diminished to 14.1 minutes and a career-low 6.2 points per game and no starts over 22 games with San Antonio.

“It bothers you a lot when you know that you’re 110% healthy and more than capable of helping your team and you’re not playing,” Young said on “Posted Up.” “It definitely bothers you. It doesn’t sit well with you. Sometimes it makes you sick to your stomach just because of the fact that you know you can help and you know that you can do certain things.”

Listen to the full episode of “Posted Up with Chris Haynes” featuring guest Thaddeus Young now and subscribe for the latest episodes throughout the season.

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