He shows an incessant, sincere interest in mentoring the dozen younger teammates who adore him, even though there’s no guarantee he’ll be around them three months from now.
He doesn’t receive as much of it as he’d like.
Young is 33 now, a basketball relic in more ways than one, and surely there are contemporary stars around the NBA who look at him and cannot believe their eyes.
If he wants to play for a contender right away , all he has to do is follow a path well-worn by others: loafing through workouts, exaggerating an injury, leaking his displeasure through the media and starting fights in practice.
Young expected to play for the Spurs and to put up the same 13-point, six-rebound, two-assist, 1.5-steal line he’s averaged basically every night since 2008.
Of course, Young wasn’t happy and acknowledged as much when he referred to his “unfortunate situation.” But in the midst of his displeasure, for some reason, he kept urging Keldon Johnson not to run himself off his own shots.
When Poeltl found himself in foul trouble in Milwaukee, Popovich had no choice but to turn to Young, who delivered 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes to lead the Spurs to their best victory of the season.
In his last six games, he’s averaged 9.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 66.7 percent from the field.
He knows his strengths, plays to them, he’s a great teammate.
By February or March, there is bound to be an upper-echelon team willing to part with draft picks and prospects for a “consummate pro,” and the Spurs are bound to take one of them up on it.
Mike Finger arrived at the Express-News in 1999, and has spent more than two decades covering professional and college sports, including the San Antonio Spurs and the Texas Longhorns.