Is Young a SF or SG?

[hwangjini_1]

As others have said he is a wing player. The way the NBA is now most players technically play more then one position on the floor. This is usually based on defensive assignment. Looking at the current roster. Smart and AB both defend PG and SG, Turner plays PG, SG, SF but only defends SG, SF, Sully, KO, Bass and Wright all play the PF and C. Green plays the SF but defends SG, SF, PF. Versatility is important.

Young said this off-season that his goal is on bulk up to 235lb he weighed 213 at pre draft. Add this to being 6'5 (with out shoes) with a  7' wingspan and 8'8" standing reach (while still recording just shot of 36" vertical) and I think Young will have plenty of size to defend the SF and will defend both positions effectively as he matures as a defender. At his age there is still also a chance that he grows a bit.

I personally would prefer to see the celtics make him defend more SGs at this point in hopes that he becomes efficient enough to start there down the road. With the NBA current trend of playing small I would love to see a celtics team in a few years with Smart and Young in the backcourt and a good sized SF. The nice thing is even if Youngs development stalls he has already shown the skill set to be a 3pt specialist with good size.

Players of comparable size

Kawhi Leonard 6'6" 227lb 7'3" wingspan 8'10 standing reach 32" vert

Jimmy Butler 6'6" 222lb 6'7.5" wingspan 8'5.5" standing reach 39" vert

Klay Thompson 6'5.75" 206lb 6'9" wingspan 8'7.5" standing reach 31.5" vert

Andre Iguadala 6'5.75" 217lb 6'11" wingspan 8'9.5" standing reach 34.5" vert

It's still amazing to me that Butler lasted until 30 in the 3J draft.

the scouting reports had butler as someone with no stand out skills. a nice, but nothing special, player without a high ceiling. given this belief, teams picked other players.

[boscel33]

As others have said he is a wing player. The way the NBA is now most players technically play more then one position on the floor. This is usually based on defensive assignment. Looking at the current roster. Smart and AB both defend PG and SG, Turner plays PG, SG, SF but only defends SG, SF, Sully, KO, Bass and Wright all play the PF and C. Green plays the SF but defends SG, SF, PF. Versatility is important.

Young said this off-season that his goal is on bulk up to 235lb he weighed 213 at pre draft. Add this to being 6'5 (with out shoes) with a  7' wingspan and 8'8" standing reach (while still recording just shot of 36" vertical) and I think Young will have plenty of size to defend the SF and will defend both positions effectively as he matures as a defender. At his age there is still also a chance that he grows a bit.

I personally would prefer to see the celtics make him defend more SGs at this point in hopes that he becomes efficient enough to start there down the road. With the NBA current trend of playing small I would love to see a celtics team in a few years with Smart and Young in the backcourt and a good sized SF. The nice thing is even if Youngs development stalls he has already shown the skill set to be a 3pt specialist with good size.

Players of comparable size

Kawhi Leonard 6'6" 227lb 7'3" wingspan 8'10 standing reach 32" vert

Jimmy Butler 6'6" 222lb 6'7.5" wingspan 8'5.5" standing reach 39" vert

Klay Thompson 6'5.75" 206lb 6'9" wingspan 8'7.5" standing reach 31.5" vert

Andre Iguadala 6'5.75" 217lb 6'11" wingspan 8'9.5" standing reach 34.5" vert

Well, if he can truly become comparable to these, then DA got a steal.

[coffee425]

Danny has insisted that Young is a PF.

Que?

Sorry, SF.

I had my hopes up for ULTRA small-ball....

[coffee425]

As others have said he is a wing player. The way the NBA is now most players technically play more then one position on the floor. This is usually based on defensive assignment. Looking at the current roster. Smart and AB both defend PG and SG, Turner plays PG, SG, SF but only defends SG, SF, Sully, KO, Bass and Wright all play the PF and C. Green plays the SF but defends SG, SF, PF. Versatility is important.

Young said this off-season that his goal is on bulk up to 235lb he weighed 213 at pre draft. Add this to being 6'5 (with out shoes) with a  7' wingspan and 8'8" standing reach (while still recording just shot of 36" vertical) and I think Young will have plenty of size to defend the SF and will defend both positions effectively as he matures as a defender. At his age there is still also a chance that he grows a bit.

I personally would prefer to see the celtics make him defend more SGs at this point in hopes that he becomes efficient enough to start there down the road. With the NBA current trend of playing small I would love to see a celtics team in a few years with Smart and Young in the backcourt and a good sized SF. The nice thing is even if Youngs development stalls he has already shown the skill set to be a 3pt specialist with good size.

Players of comparable size

Kawhi Leonard 6'6" 227lb 7'3" wingspan 8'10 standing reach 32" vert

Jimmy Butler 6'6" 222lb 6'7.5" wingspan 8'5.5" standing reach 39" vert

Klay Thompson 6'5.75" 206lb 6'9" wingspan 8'7.5" standing reach 31.5" vert

Andre Iguadala 6'5.75" 217lb 6'11" wingspan 8'9.5" standing reach 34.5" vert

Has anyone watched enough of his DLeague to see if he's gained weight OR improved his lateral defensive movement?
Because during March Madness, I will say that he has no chance to guard a 2-guard. It was obvious that Michigan, Louisville, and UConn were trying to beat him off the dribble. Wisconsin, not so much.

[Csfan1984]

SG

[slamtheking]

I think he'll be a swing player but eventually be primarily a SF unless the C's draft a bigger SF.

[kozlodoev]

We'll know when we figure out whether he's an NBA player to begin with.

[smokeablount]

To me he has a SG body. His body reminds of Kobe's.

SG or SF, I want him to play along with Mario Hezonja, another SG/SF great shooter. That would be amazing for our future.

Funny you should mention Kobe, I got tickets to last night's game that would have been too pricey for me to buy, very good seats, and I saw the PP-KG-Ray Celtics play Kobe & Pau in '09 (LA) and '10 (Boston) from quality seats.  Watching James Young on his drive and pull-up attempts I saw shades of Kobe in the form- the lean-forward giving way to a slight fadeaway, the squaring of the shoulders right before the shot, that balance as shown by the leg kick...

Not saying James Young is or will be anything like Kobe, and James was getting those shots mostly because he dropped three 3's resulting in his catches on the perimeter getting bullrushed (hence his response, the head fake -> dribble drive -> pull-up offense, very nice).

If Danny insists he's a SF then I'm calling tanking BS or going to have to say Danny must be confused, and I think he's a good GM and evaluator (some areas / types of player more than others), but he's been very wrong in the moment before when it is obvious to many fans. 

At 6'7" and as a dead eye shooter from KY days and C's early indications, James Young's ideal player comparison should be Klay Thompson at SG.  We should not be parking him at SF just cuz he has the height and we have SG Avery Bradley (not high on AB).  JY's a string bean and I doubt he guards SFs well. Right now playing SG, there are fewer stars he'd have to defend.

Seems no-brainer-ish for me regardless of last night's game, not getting the SF angle at all.

[smokeablount]

We'll know when we figure out whether he's an NBA player to begin with.

Read between the lines, know the market and note his age.  Nothing is guaranteed, but this is a 'pace and space' league (legit contenders execute it, wanna-be's emulate it) and shooting has probably never been more valuable for many reasons I don't think we need to argue about.  Also, with the TV contract, next year's deal will be higher and there will be more money to spread around in the coming years, but no apparent increase in great shooters / star SGs. 

Odds are, a 19 year old shooter like this, with 6'7'' size and a lottery pedigree... he'll find a home in an 8-9 man rotation on the right playoff team by early-mid 20s.  He may need a weak shooting team, or one with a great rim protector to offset perimeter lapses, but even without much improvement, he's a solid role player, complimentary starter, or just a zone buster if he keeps his shot, catches up to NBA speed (he's a KY guy, he can) & improves his D some.

I'm not worried about whether he'll make it.  Teens who can shoot the lights out bust way less than athletic non-shooters, small guys, etc, but many young picks flourish on the 2nd team they play for, after playing out a rookie deal.  So my Q is, can he be an NBA player for us?

[Eddie20]

Probably SF when he fills out. Player comparison would be a bigger Michael Redd.

[sofutomygaha]

It's in flux because at his age, he may still be growing.

Right now, he is not going to be able to defend small forwards, so his shortest path to the NBA is at the 2.

[dreamgreen]

Right now he is a 2, he could play the 3 if we went small but could not guard the better 3's in the league IMO.

[clover]

As others have said he is a wing player. The way the NBA is now most players technically play more then one position on the floor. This is usually based on defensive assignment. Looking at the current roster. Smart and AB both defend PG and SG, Turner plays PG, SG, SF but only defends SG, SF, Sully, KO, Bass and Wright all play the PF and C. Green plays the SF but defends SG, SF, PF. Versatility is important.

Young said this off-season that his goal is on bulk up to 235lb he weighed 213 at pre draft. Add this to being 6'5 (with out shoes) with a  7' wingspan and 8'8" standing reach (while still recording just shot of 36" vertical) and I think Young will have plenty of size to defend the SF and will defend both positions effectively as he matures as a defender. At his age there is still also a chance that he grows a bit.

I personally would prefer to see the celtics make him defend more SGs at this point in hopes that he becomes efficient enough to start there down the road. With the NBA current trend of playing small I would love to see a celtics team in a few years with Smart and Young in the backcourt and a good sized SF. The nice thing is even if Youngs development stalls he has already shown the skill set to be a 3pt specialist with good size.

Players of comparable size

Kawhi Leonard 6'6" 227lb 7'3" wingspan 8'10 standing reach 32" vert

Jimmy Butler 6'6" 222lb 6'7.5" wingspan 8'5.5" standing reach 39" vert

Klay Thompson 6'5.75" 206lb 6'9" wingspan 8'7.5" standing reach 31.5" vert

Andre Iguadala 6'5.75" 217lb 6'11" wingspan 8'9.5" standing reach 34.5" vert

It's still amazing to me that Butler lasted until 30 in the 3J draft.

the scouting reports had butler as someone with no stand out skills. a nice, but nothing special, player without a high ceiling. given this belief, teams picked other players.

This is from DraftExpress:

June 19, 2011
Looking through the rest of this class of forwards, a few things stand out. First is how well Jimmy Butler seems to rank in virtually every category, starting with overall offensive efficiency (6th), and continuing with turnover rate (2nd best), free throw rate (2nd) and transition scoring (2nd). If he can improve his ability to make shots with his feet set (13th, 36% FG) he will likely carve out a long career for himself considering how staunch of a defender he is.

http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz3O5wpH2jq

[Who]

I think Ainge considers James Young a SF because of his weak ball-handling and passing.

[Chris22]

I think Ainge considers James Young a SF because of his weak ball-handling and passing.

That hasn't stopped Jeff Green from being a SF.