Report: Thaddeus Young to opt in, avoid free agency

Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young will reportedly exercise his player option worth $13.7 million for 2018-19, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Prior to his decision to stay, Young was reportedly considering declining the option to seek a long-term deal this offseason, according to Wojnarowski.

This now eliminates a big chunk of potential cap space available for the Pacers, but they could remain active in free agency depending on their decisions with the non-guaranteed contracts of Al Jefferson, Darren Collison, and Bojan Bogdanovic. Indiana has already renounced the rights to Lance Stephenson's $4.3-million team option for next season.

Young, 30, averaged 11.8 points and 6.3 boards while providing the Pacers with a versatile defender next to young stars Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo.