James Young: The Lost Cause
The Boston Celtics are building one of the strongest young cores in the NBA and with multiple first round draft picks coming their way for multiple years, it may not be long before that young core transforms into a true title contender. The Celtics have done a great job, particularly with their guards. They have found a balance of offense and defense and they still are yet to get a real idea of what R.J Hunter and Terry Rozier have to offer.
The Celtics have had their share of success in the draft during this rebuild but there is one case that has fans wondering what could have been, James Young. When the Celtics first drafted Young with the 17th overall pick the hype was real. Bill Simmons’ reaction alone left fans dreaming of the unlimited potential of Young. The problem is that all that potential has disappeared since entering the NBA.
Young is now in his second year with the Celtics and he has seen every guard on the team jump over him on the depth chart. Isaiah Thomas, Evan Turner, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart have absolutely blown Young away but that is not the most concerning part. Even the rookies, Rozier and Hunter, have seen more significant playing time than Young. Early on in the season it was Hunter getting significant minutes and now it is Rozier getting significant minutes. Meanwhile, Young continues to jump back and forth from the D League, showing no signs of making the progress that the Celtics need in order to keep him around.
The offense potential is still there, I suppose. The problem is that he has shown no indication of actualizing that potential. Young appeared to have an offensive skill set that would make him one of the best options on the Celtics. Young shot 35% on 6 three point attempts per game in college and sported an impressive overall shooting percentage of 47%. Young appeared to be a threat all over the court and many thought he should have been a great offensive compliment to the great defensive guards on the team. Stevens also has an accommodating offensive system that puts players in good positions to get a high volume of quality opportunities.
Unfortunately, Young has made none of the progress that was expected out of college and has done nothing to grow and take advantage of Stevens’ system. If anything he has regressed on the offensive end. He has not found a way to adjust to the better players in the NBA and even on a Celtics team that features many struggling shooters, he simply cannot do enough to earn a role.
It may not be the time to give up on Young’s NBA career given his age. It is, however, time to give up on his career with the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have assembled an incredibly deep and young core of guards and if Young cannot get into the lineup right now it’s hard to imagine a place opening up for him in the future. Young has shown no indications of making the improvement that would allow him to have a positive impact on the team.
The Celtics already have four guards that are miles ahead of Young and he has shown no indications of passing even Rozier or Hunter. The Celtics’ back court is already cluttered and is set to be even more cluttered once Rozier and Hunter can handle a full spot in the rotation. The Celtics are going to have a lot of tough roster decisions coming up. They will be targeting big name free agents and their high volume of draft picks alone will force the Celtics to send current players packing. There will be a lot of tough decisions but right now Young is an easy one.
He has shown no signs of being a capable defender in the NBA and has not even approached the offensive impact he would need to have a role on the team. Perhaps he needs more time, time that the Celtics simply cannot give him now. The Celtics have plenty of players that are better and are improving faster than Young right now. The Celtics are still rebuilding but the process has gone too fast for Young.
Young has given the Celtics no reason to keep him around and they will be better off using his roster spot to explore other options. The Celtics have continually shown a willingness to play their young guards and if Young has not been able to get into the lineup while the Celtics are rebuilding, there is absolutely no hope of significant playing time for him once they settle into a contending core.
Next: Have We Seen the Last of the Celtics Lakers Rivalry?
James Young is certainly one of the more disappointing draft picks in recent history for the Celtics. The good news is that they do have the other options. The Celtics can easily forget about Young because of the depth and youth they have at the guard position. Right now, Young is probably first on the list of expendable players on the Celtics and his future prospects are all but non-existent in Boston.