I don't buy it, though, and not just because Young is young (come on, people must have something better to say by now). Young is an excellent shooter and he can get that shot off in the NBA off the catch and off the dribble. He was a good offensive player in the D-league; most players who share that distinction are freelancers, but he stuck hard to the role he was supposed to play. It seems like conventional wisdom around here that last year was a lost year for him and I don't think that's true at all.
Problem is though, is that really true?
Over the past couple of years we've seen James Young in College, in the D-League, in the Summer League, in the Pre-season (one game only so far though) and in the actual NBA.
Out of ALL those avenues so far, the only place where he shot an 'above average' percentage from three was in the D-League.
In 40 College games he shot 82/235 (34.9%)
In 3 Summer League games @ Salt Lake City) he shot 2/13 (15.4%)
In 2 Summer League @ Vegas he shot 3/9 (33.3%)
In 31 NBA games he shot 17/66 (25.8%)
In 17 D-League games he shot 68/154 (44.2%)
If you take out the D-League games then in a total of 76 games (between college, summer league and the NBA) he has shot a combined 104/323 - a measly 32%.
Even if you include the highly inflated D-League percentages (which seem entirely unsustainable, based on what he's shot elsewhere) then it's a combined 172/477 (36%) which is still only barely above average for an NBA Shooting Guard.
Three point shooting seems to be this kid's one selling point, and yet even in that area I fail to see what all the fuss is about.
That's a heck of a cherry to pick, my friend! He's 20, and you are probing his percentages when you throw out the vast majority of his first and only year of pro basketball.
How can you say I am cherry picking when I listed his overall shooting numbers twice:
1) Without D-League numbers included
2) With D-League numbers included
There is no possible way you can claim I am Cherry-Picking.
His numbers ranged from mediocre (in the first case) to slightly above average (in the second case) - neither jumps out as being especially impressive.
Also, I chose to show both perspectives because IMHO the D-League is a joke, and those stats meaningless.
Phil Pressy played one D-League game where he put up 34 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Fab Melo had one where he put up a triple double with 15 points, 16 rebound and 14 blocks. Neither guy came CLOSE to putting up numbers like that in any Summer League or NBA game. In fact I dont think either guy even had a game like that in college!!
If you check player averages in general, Summer League stats tend to translate much more accurately to the NBA then D-League stats do. The latter are just outrageous.