Chicago Bulls veteran small forward Thaddeus Young is averaging only 21.5 minutes this season, the second-fewest mark of his career.
Young, who signed a three-year deal with the Bulls in free agency, has no idea why he's playing so few minutes:
“That’s something you’ve got to ask coach,” Young said, via The Athletic. “I’m not sure. But whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do it. That’s something that they have to figure out.
“I’ve been pretty healthy for the majority of my career, knock on wood. In the past three years I’ve only missed about 10 games. Eight were about three seasons ago, and one and one the last two seasons. So for the most part I’m healthy and ready to go each and every night. So whatever coach sees fit to do, I fall in line and have to ride with it and go out there and continue to play with my teammates.”
In 20 games this season for the Bulls, Young is averaging 8.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists. The lefty is shooting 40.2 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from beyond the arc and 55.6 percent from the free-throw line.
These numbers are all well down from last season with the Indiana Pacers. In 30.7 minutes per game, the veteran power forward averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 52.7 percent overall, 34.9 percent from 3-point land and 64.4 percent from the charity stripe.
The Bulls are 6-14 on the season, 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings, and they need Young to perform better after they made him their top priority in free agency.
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