We shouldn't cut/trade James Young for 2nd round picks or expiring contracts

[Future Celtics Owner]

The easy solution to this is to trade our core of non-improving role players and get prospects and picks ( in 2017) and be in a better position to get our own top pick. And thats not "tanking" because CBS will always play to win and hold players accountable.

It's not like we are winning a championship. And thats all the Celts count. Not playoff appearances, not division champs; just plain old championships.

[IDreamCeltics]

I love how people are already certain RJ Hunter is an NBA player who will break into our crowded rotation.

Right?

For some reason, Hunter is going to have no trouble breaking into the rotation even though we've never seen him in a pro game and 27 NBA teams passed on him in the draft (including us at 16) but James Young, who was drafted as a project, is a lost cause after only 1 season of playing in the D-League.

Incredible.

I think you two are overlooking the fact that we just got to watch both Young and RJ play in summer league, and Hunter outperformed Young.  The most [dang]ing thing for Young in my opinion was how far apart the two were in terms of understanding the team game. 

If you think Young is the better prospect that's fine.  I disagree.

Hunter showed an understanding of how to poach passing lanes on defense.  Offensively he showed a propensity for drawing fouls and an understanding of how to play without the ball in his hands.  He showed an ability to use his length to recover when beaten playing man to man defense.  He also demonstrated his absurd shooting range - which specifically is something the Celtic's lacked last season.    From my perspective Young demonstrated a lack of toughness, showed a lack of concentration on defense, and played below average on offense when he wasn't the primary option. 

I think it's fine to hold onto Young, but I also think it's fine to trade or cut him since he's still probably at least two years away from being an NBA player who's not a net negative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAtueJsoY6g

In my mind Young/Hunter is not really a competition.  The player Young is competing for a roster spot with is this guy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voRLJyBlr3g

[the_Bird]

There's no way they're going to cut bait with him like that.

I laugh every time I see somebody suggest something along those lines, as if the Celts are going to dump a guy they took at #18 last year just to keep a salary cap casualty / fringe-NBA player like Perry Jones.

Had we actually drafted PJIII back a few years ago, and watched him struggle like he has so fan in his NBA career...   I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be anyone clamoring for his inclusion on next year's lineup.  But people still have their binkies from previous drafts. 

And they're ready to give up on James Young, even though everyone should have KNOWN that a kid that young was going to look terrible when he first joined the league.  It's like everyone has collectively forgotten how bad AB looked in his rookie year.

[PhoSita]

I think you two are overlooking the fact that we just got to watch both Young and RJ play in summer league, and Hunter outperformed Young. 

Trust me, I haven't forgotten that people are placing WAYYYYYYYY too much emphasis on Summer League.

[MJohnnyboy]

I think you two are overlooking the fact that we just got to watch both Young and RJ play in summer league, and Hunter outperformed Young. 

Trust me, I haven't forgotten that people are placing WAYYYYYYYY too much emphasis on Summer League.

Haven't you figured it out yet? The summer league is very indicative of who's going to be good and who's going to suck. That's why we've had summer league studs like Kedrick Brown and Joe Forte grow up to be Celtics legends while summer league duds like Al Jefferson be nothing more than salary cap filler in blockbuster deals.

The ignorance in some people is beyond infuriating if you ask me.

[D.o.s.]

Never Forget Kelly Olynyk Summer League MVP.

[Celtics18]

Never Forget Kelly Olynyk Summer League MVP.

Never.

[saltlover]

You all missed a chance to wish James Young a happy 20th birthday yesterday in this thread.

[Celtics18]

Well, belated happy birthday to James.

Can we buy him a drink yet? 

[PhoSita]

Well, belated happy birthday to James.

Can we buy him a drink yet?

Depends on where we're buying the drink for him, I suppose.

[Big333223]

I think you two are overlooking the fact that we just got to watch both Young and RJ play in summer league, and Hunter outperformed Young.  The most [dang]ing thing for Young in my opinion was how far apart the two were in terms of understanding the team game. 

If you think Young is the better prospect that's fine.  I disagree.

Hunter showed an understanding of how to poach passing lanes on defense.  Offensively he showed a propensity for drawing fouls and an understanding of how to play without the ball in his hands.  He showed an ability to use his length to recover when beaten playing man to man defense.  He also demonstrated his absurd shooting range - which specifically is something the Celtic's lacked last season.    From my perspective Young demonstrated a lack of toughness, showed a lack of concentration on defense, and played below average on offense when he wasn't the primary option. 

I think it's fine to hold onto Young, but I also think it's fine to trade or cut him since he's still probably at least two years away from being an NBA player who's not a net negative.

Then what was the point of drafting Young if, even though you knew he was going to take a season or two to be able to compete at the pro level, you were going to cut him after a single season? It makes no sense.

As for Hunter:

Never Forget Kelly Olynyk Summer League MVP.

[Alleyoopster]

I'm not a big James Young fan, but he does have some things in his favor.  Which are his age, physique and shooting ability. 
Looking at his college statistics he shot 47% from 2 point range....(35% from the 3 point range).    http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/james-young-1.html

Game by game college stats - http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/players/playerpage/2104357/james-young

His overall shooting percentage in the D-League was 46.3%  and .442 for 3's.  Thus, his 2 point percentage was probably around 49%?  (I'm too tired to do the math.)  http://dleague.nba.com/player/james-young/

For some reason his college and D-League shooting hasn't translated into his NBA game.  Could it be his age?  Lack of understanding of the game...nerves?  How long does one wait to find out if he can handle the NBA pressure? 

[vjcsmoke]

I'd like to keep Young but we have a roster crunch. 

What the Celtics really need is a 2-1 talent swap.  If we can upgrade our talent and give up two players that would really help a lot.  Is DA working the phones again today? 

PS isn't the easiest solution just to assign James Young to the NBADL or would he still count against our total contracts?

[Big333223]

I'm not a big James Young fan, but he does have some things in his favor.  Which are his age, physique and shooting ability. 
Looking at his college statistics he shot 47% from 2 point range....(35% from the 3 point range).    http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/james-young-1.html

Game by game college stats - http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/players/playerpage/2104357/james-young

His overall shooting percentage in the D-League was 46.3%  and .442 for 3's.  Thus, his 2 point percentage was probably around 49%?  (I'm too tired to do the math.)  http://dleague.nba.com/player/james-young/

For some reason his college and D-League shooting hasn't translated into his NBA game.  Could it be his age?  Lack of understanding of the game...nerves?  How long does one wait to find out if he can handle the NBA pressure?

Given that last season was purely about getting his cherry popped in the NBA, I'd say he's got this season to screw up and then his third year, if the team doesn't start seeing signs that he'll be a rotation player, it can start looking elsewhere for help.