Is James Young Treated Unfairly?

Does James Young really deserve all the criticism he receives on a regular basis?

Since James Young  was drafted in the first round of the 2014 draft by the James Young, he has been glued to the bench and D League and has continually seen players drafted later jump over him in the rotation. The Celtics have built a strong and young core of guards without him, but giving up on him now may still be unfair.

He has inspired some relative hype a couple times in the summer league, but never enough to make him a legitimate consideration for the rotation. It gets even more frustrating considering fellow first round guards Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier were given roles as a rookie. Smart was a starter out of the gate and Rozier became a factor with injuries in the playoffs.

The reason Young still has a place on the Celtics is that despite the fact that he is entering his third season with the team, he is still the second youngest player on the team, behind only Jaylen Brown.

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The Celtics knew Young was going to be a project and they knew they were going to have to be patient with him. With the way he needed to improve physically and on the defensive end, it would have been unrealistic to expect the kind of impact the Celtics wound up getting from Rozier and Smart.

In terms of physicality and athleticism, Young simply cannot compete with the likes of Smart and Rozier and NBA ready defense is how they earned the roles that have eluded Young so far in his career.

Coming out of college, Young offered solid height, but at just 215 pounds he clearly lacked the kind of frame he would need to be a factor on the defensive end. He also failed to have a defensive rating under 104, making it clear that he had a lot of work to do on the defensive end.

Unfortunately, it also turns out that Young has a lot more work to do than may have been initially expected on the offensive end. They drafted him because of a phenomenal offensive skill set and that ability simply has not translated well enough since he left college.

Given the fact that Young is just 21 years old and time to develop was inevitable, some of his criticism becomes unfair. It is certainly not time to entirely give up on Young, but he should still be much further along than where he is.

Even R.J Hunter, who had similar defensive concerns, appears to have established himself quicker than Young. So far, Young has done nothing to suggest he can further advance the team on offense. He is yet to assert himself at any level the way multiple Celtics guards have excelled.

Even though he is younger, Young has been given more opportunities to claim a role on the team, and he has continually failed. Young may deserve more time but, at this point, certainly not at the cost of any other prospect on this team.

Life will also continue to get harder on Young the longer he takes to reach the point where he can be a contributor. With how many young guards the Celtics have, they should continue to get stronger and deeper at that position. Some vacancies may be opened depending on contract situations, but the Celtics have far too many options ahead of Young at this point.

They need his offense and his shooting would be a welcomed sight for a back court that has so many shooting liabilities. Their biggest area of need right now is three point shooting and that may be the biggest reason they are holding onto Young.

The best of their guard depth is all about defense right now. Rozier and Smart have shown that they will have an impact on defense, but they have been miserable shooting the ball. They have established a level of comfort in Stevens system and embrace the aggressiveness it requires. The shooting, however, has never come for either of them. Smart was best his rookie season, but the Celtics cannot expect great shooting out of either of them at this point.

If Young was given a role it would be because of his potential to be that kind of shooter. It still remains unrealistic to expect the guard who has had the least amount of time in the rotation (outside of rookie Demetrius Jackson) to break out this season.

Young may not deserve all the scrutiny that is thrown his way, but there is still reason for it. Young has never even approached the hype that was created when he drafted and with two seasons under his belt, he should have started showing more positive signs at this point.

Young still has to prove everything and has to make sure he does not continue to get outperformed by every guard that joins the team. Young’s tenure in Boston is starting to feel a lot more like just a matter of time before they part ways. They do not need the guard depth and as their offense continues to improve, his potential becomes even less valuable.

Now would be a great time for Young to break out for a second unit that needs as much scoring as it can get. Unfortunately, it still feels as though Young is the biggest long shot on the team to have any kind of consistent role.

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The Celtics have shown a willingness to be patient with their young guards, and that may be the biggest difference maker for Young. Clearly, the franchise wants to make sure he is given the adequate time to develop, but one thing will continue to press on the mind of Young: time is quickly running out.