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There were whispers of a poor work ethic at the start, but Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge defended Young, saying, “James has made strides. He’s better today than he was two years ago.”
Still, there are some who question just how important basketball is to him, and, unfortunately, this is not an unheard of situation among certain young players in this league.
For many, it can simply be a matter of not “getting it.” Others get caught up in the lifestyle.
In a conversation not related to Young, Ainge discussed the issue of players failing to seize the opportunity and being pushed out when everything about their talent states they should have a prosperous career.
“I’ve seen that for 35 years in the NBA,” Ainge said. “They don’t understand the urgency. They feel like they’ve made it, and they don’t understand that staying in the NBA should be their objective and not just making it here.”
Each draft is littered with high picks that never pan out. Some spent their lives since grade school dreaming of getting to the NBA and putting in the countless hours in the grind that is required to thread the statistical needle and make a professional roster.
But it has to be about more than simply reaching that goal. Teams generally draft based on physical abilities, though much more research is now done on players’ personalities and personal habits.
But whereas clubs still look first at the skills, they know, too, that it is the players with the burning desire to be great that wind up as the stars.
At 5-9, the fact Isaiah Thomas was even drafted, albeit with the final pick, was a major accomplishment. Since then, however, he has been almost maniacal in his desire to improve, an approach that made him an All-Star this past season.
“There’s all different levels,” said Ainge. “There are guys like Isaiah that are just driven, but some guys aren’t like that. Living the NBA lifestyle and enjoying it is fine, but it has to be about a lot more than that if you want to stay and really succeed. There are some guys that just don’t even understand how hard you have to work.
“I remember I always felt like I was the hardest worker my whole life on every team I ever played on in high school and college and all that. Then I got to the NBA and I saw, wow, there’s people that work even harder than me, so that was a good example.
“I saw that, and I think there are a lot of young players in the NBA that are able to see what they have to do to become good and great and to stay and last, and they pick up on it and they do it. Some people listen to the veterans. Some people listen to the coaches. Some don’t. Some just don’t get it. They’re just not paying attention.
“Everybody has different levels of commitment and listening.”
The failure to buy in completely to all NBA requirements may have been part of the problem with former Celtic Jared Sullinger, who produced good numbers but was allowed to walk away to Toronto as a free agent. As John Lucas, who spent last summer training Sullinger, was quoted here as saying, “He’s still fighting anybody and everybody about who knows best. He’ll give in to a point, but he won’t . . . let . . . go. And if he’d ever just let go and accept what people are telling him, I think he can be great.”
The Celtics will have a decision to make on Young. He is guaranteed $1,825,200 this year on his rookie contract, and, considering the new and greatly enlarged salary cap and the positive steps he has taken, they will almost certainly pick up the $2,803,507 option for 2017-18.
But there are larger questions for Young and every other young player to answer when they arrive in the NBA.
Topic: Thank you James Young for making the Celtics a better team (Read 3201 times)