tough guy james young

[rollie mass]

i think i just spotted him after smart strip bulling the ball over half court against butler
-obviously i thought he was fouled but he banged it across and timeout was called-

[positivitize]

I also noticed how Stevens made sure to put him in on defense in the last few defensive possessions. I did a doubletake when I saw that.

[spikelovetheCelts]

It is amazing how it has started to click. I have always liked his stroke.
His stroke has looked great the last few shots too.  I hope we can find a way to keep him.
It will be funny if he ends up with the Nets.

[cons]

yeah agree w the surprise to see him in there at the end.
he must've earned some degree of trust from coach.

ray of hope?
it'd be nice if he turns into something...

[Atzar]

He has quietly become a solid defender against ball-handling wings.  He's always had adequate quickness and good length, but his improved strength and effort has really helped him play with more physicality and aggression on the defensive end. 

Right now his issue is in off-ball defense, where he tries to do too many things at once.  He sags into the paint to deter drives or get position to crash the glass, but he gives his man too much space - good ball movement will create an open look before he can recover.  But that's fixable, if the defensive staff even wants to fix it.  It's possible that the coaches want Young's length in the paint on the weak side and are willing to live with the occasional open three as a consequence.  But that's speculation on my part.

Anyway, it's worth noting that Young has been in the middle of plays on defense over the last few games, and that's not an accident.  Previously, Stevens would try to steal minutes with Young by hiding him on guys who present no offensive threat.  Now, he appears to trust him to guard certain players who actually have a role in the offense.  So that's an interesting development.  He's no stopper, but he appears to have earned the respect of his coaches and teammates. 

[CelticGuardian]

yah, him and KO have been playing with a lot more pride and cojones. KO especially, I'm so happy both have been gunning it, this is a development I want to continue as the team gears up for their playoff run. That's where James Young is going to earn his $60 million 4 years contract with the Nets.

[hpantazo]

yah, him and KO have been playing with a lot more pride and cojones. KO especially, I'm so happy both have been gunning it, this is a development I want to continue as the team gears up for their playoff run. That's where James Young is going to earn his $60 million 4 years contract with the Nets.

KO can be a special player if he keeps this up. He's been fantastic lately

[Cman]

I also noticed how Stevens made sure to put him in on defense in the last few defensive possessions. I did a doubletake when I saw that.

Ditto, me too. Surprised to see him in there, but happy that it means things are coming together for him.

[ScoobyDoo]

Thanks God Danny locked him up on a team friendly deal for a few years. It would be ridiculous if we had decided to keep James on the roster with zero control on him at the end of the year - and then he starts playing well, turning the corner and bolts Boston. That would be like one of the most assinine GM moves you could make. Keep the guy on the roster with no control over him if he starts playing better.

Obviously, heavy sarcasm here bit can someone explain why we would keep him on the roster without controlling him via contract? In today's Cap world, couldn't we have locked him up as a 14th man developmental guy for something like $2 mil a year, team option next year.   

If he blows up a bit and we lose him in free agency and he blossoms - complete idiot move by Ainge. And the thing is you could see the tools and skill with Young and it was curious "why" he wasn't getting it yet. Time...     

[ScoobyDoo]

Why would we keep him without controlling his rights? Seriously asking for people's thoughts on this. I was baffled when it happened and was concerned that he would start clicking and we then lose him - worst case idiot GM move to me - in my thinking anyway.   

[csfansince60s]

Why would we keep him without controlling his rights? Seriously asking for people's thoughts on this. I was baffled when it happened and was concerned that he would start clicking and we then lose him - worst case idiot GM move to me - in my thinking anyway.

We obviously thought more of him than Hunter, at least in terms of value for a pre-deadline trade.

That being said, I recall either Danny or Brad talking about Young when the Young/Hunter thing was happening. The gist of what they said was that Young has been handed everything his whole life and never had to work for it, and now he does. Maybe (and I know this is weak) they thought that the only way to get more out of him was to not give him a contract for next year. If so, it seems to have worked, but as you are alluding to, where are we now?

We're in a Catch 22 with him. The most that we can give him is about $3mil next year. We want him to play well, but if he plays well (as he's starting to) someone will definitely give him more $$$. If he doesn't we won't want to keep him. Let's hope that he has upped his value a little and is used in a trade for a needed piece.

Also, a question for capologists: If the most that we can offer him is about $3mil, how many years can we offer that for? Is it just for next year?

Hey, maybe he'll give us a hometown discount!

[BitterJim]

Thanks God Danny locked him up on a team friendly deal for a few years. It would be ridiculous if we had decided to keep James on the roster with zero control on him at the end of the year - and then he starts playing well, turning the corner and bolts Boston. That would be like one of the most assinine GM moves you could make. Keep the guy on the roster with no control over him if he starts playing better.

Obviously, heavy sarcasm here bit can someone explain why we would keep him on the roster without controlling him via contract? In today's Cap world, couldn't we have locked him up as a 14th man developmental guy for something like $2 mil a year, team option next year.   

If he blows up a bit and we lose him in free agency and he blossoms - complete idiot move by Ainge. And the thing is you could see the tools and skill with Young and it was curious "why" he wasn't getting it yet. Time...   

He almost got cut in November.  Why would Danny pick up the 4th year option of a guy that he was considering cutting before his 3rd year? That would be a meaningless burden on our future cap.  And honestly, even though James Young is now showing signs that he might actually be an NBA caliber player, it's not a huge loss if he leaves us.  This isn't a star we're talking about, it's a guy that has looked okay in short minutes

As for signing him in November, to a different contract, that wasn't an option.  He was under contract for this season already, you can't cut a guy and then sign him to another contract right after.  Your hypothetical is impossible.

And as for calling Danny an idiot for not picking up his 4th year option and implying that it was obvious that it was a bad move, would you care to share any proof (from around when Danny declined Young's option) saying that you thought it was a bad move?

[rollie mass]

i don't see james as athletic, slow twitch and don't see much vertical
he has length-his lack of speed has been exposed on break aways
is danny pumping his value going into trade deadline-nader is quicker first step elite length and elite with both hands-
-he is still young but very replaceable-i also saw him lost on defense in the paint and i mean lost
but you have to compliment the strides he has made
-if he is smart he will stick with this core of young guys and take a home team deal
-

[droopdog7]

Meh.  Every guy in the NBA is capable of playing given a chance (though young really wasn't early on in his career).  Anyway, the issue is that he couldn't earn playing time.  Only playing because of injuries.

Anyway, he'll be relegated back to the bench when everyone gets healthy. 

[drogbagarnett]

Thanks God Danny locked him up on a team friendly deal for a few years. It would be ridiculous if we had decided to keep James on the roster with zero control on him at the end of the year - and then he starts playing well, turning the corner and bolts Boston. That would be like one of the most assinine GM moves you could make. Keep the guy on the roster with no control over him if he starts playing better.

Obviously, heavy sarcasm here bit can someone explain why we would keep him on the roster without controlling him via contract? In today's Cap world, couldn't we have locked him up as a 14th man developmental guy for something like $2 mil a year, team option next year.   

If he blows up a bit and we lose him in free agency and he blossoms - complete idiot move by Ainge. And the thing is you could see the tools and skill with Young and it was curious "why" he wasn't getting it yet. Time...   

He almost got cut in November.  Why would Danny pick up the 4th year option of a guy that he was considering cutting before his 3rd year? That would be a meaningless burden on our future cap.  And honestly, even though James Young is now showing signs that he might actually be an NBA caliber player, it's not a huge loss if he leaves us.  This isn't a star we're talking about, it's a guy that has looked okay in short minutes

As for signing him in November, to a different contract, that wasn't an option.  He was under contract for this season already, you can't cut a guy and then sign him to another contract right after.  Your hypothetical is impossible.

And as for calling Danny an idiot for not picking up his 4th year option and implying that it was obvious that it was a bad move, would you care to share any proof (from around when Danny declined Young's option) saying that you thought it was a bad move?

I think the thought process / strategy here was to let him rot on the bench this whole year enough for nobody else to be interested to spend any money on him so we could keep him at his low cost number for next year and start giving him an opportunity to showcase his worth...

Unfortunately, injuries forced us to unveil him and now team will now he is a good player / rotation guy in this league that deserves minutes...

Unless he has an injury or something (which I cant wish for anybody ever) people will come knock at his door this summer and offer him a bigger deal than we can... Unfortunately!! Just hope it wont be the Nets... The kid is going to be a very good, reliable player in this league!