PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers signed a pair of
first-round draft picks on Wednesday, inking 12th overall pick
Thaddeus Young and 7-footer Jason Smith.
Young, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward, entered the draft after
averaging 14.4 points as a freshman at Georgia Tech. Smith was
picked 20th by Miami and traded to the Sixers for the rights to
21st pick Daequan Cook, cash and a 2009 second-round pick.
Young will make $1.525 million in the first year of his contract
and $1.640 million in the second. Smith will make a little over $1
million both seasons. The 76ers hold options for third and fourth
years on both players.
It may not be until the third or fourth year that the
19-year-old Young makes a big impact for the Sixers.
Speaking from Las Vegas, where he is playing on the Sixers'
summer league team, Young said he is willing to wait his turn. But
he hopes it'll come sooner than anyone -- the Sixers' front office
included -- expects.
"They've been looking at me to be one or two years away,"
Young said. "As time goes on, I think I'll adjust much quicker
than they think I will."
Young said he knew he would have a tougher time with bigger,
stronger opponents than he faced in college and has focused on
being just as aggressive as they are. But his transition to the
pros hasn't been without adjustment.
"In college, they tell you to run, run, run. But when you get
to the NBA, they tell you to slow things down," he said.
Young is averaging 10 points and 5.3 rebounds in the Las Vegas
summer league.
Smith, 21, played three seasons at Colorado State and averaged
16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds his junior year. He is averaging 7.8
points and 8.0 rebounds in the summer league.
Young said it was a relief to get the contract out of the way,
but he hasn't done any celebrating.
"If you call going to my room and getting some rest and getting
ready for the next game celebrating, yeah, that's what I did,"
Young said.