9 Players the Boston Celtics held on to for way too long

James Young (2014-17)

After the 2013-14 season, now in the post-big 3 era, the Boston Celtics needed a player and a foundation to rally around as a new build was beginning. With the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Celtics took Marcus Smart. But it was largely their selection with the 17th overall pick that many were fawning over. The selection was James Young, a highly-touted guard prospect out of Kentucky that many believed had star potential coming out of college.

Young never simply developed as many predicted he would. During his first season with the Celtics, Young appeared in just 31 games for the Celtics and averaged under 11 minutes per game. By his second season with the Celtics, it was clear he was never going to be the player they hoped he could be. He played in even fewer games and fewer minutes per contest. The writing was on the wall as nearly every other guard on the team was getting minutes over him.

Still, the Celtics brought him back for a third season in hopes that something would click for him in his development. It never came. He was let go by the Celtics, finally, after the 2016-17 season. He only appeared in six more NBA games (with the Philadelphia 76ers) after leaving the Celtics.