Boston Celtics: James Young Has Not Taken The Next Step
James Young was set to take the next step this season, but he has disappointed from the start of NBA Summer League all the way up into March.
James Young was drafted in 2014 by the Boston Celtics in the middle of the first round and ever since he got drafted, he has not showed many promising signs. The Celtics do have a lot of depth on their roster, especially in the backcourt, which is a reason why Young has not seen the court much.
Boston does lack depth on the wings, especially now since Jae Crowder is out, but Young has not been able to answer the call recently either.
Young is 6-foot-6 and he is freakishly athletic. He was a pretty good scorer and shooter at Kentucky. He averaged 14.3 points per game (second on the team behind Julius Randle), shot 40. 7 percent from the field, and 34.9 percent from deep as a freshmen, but in the NBA he has struggled to find his groove on the offensive end.
It does not help that Young has never played consistent minutes in the NBA, but he has not shined in any every opportunity he has had.
In 26 games this year, Young has averaged 1.1 points per game and he is shooting 30.6 percent from the field. Since Crowder’s injury, he has only played meaningful minutes in one game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played 22 minutes and put up zero points on 0-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Boston Celtics
The Celtics need players to step up while Crowder is out, and so far, Young has not answered the call.
So Young has had a pretty bad start to his NBA career, but there is still some potential, but Celtics’ fans might never see that true potential.
Young’s Outlook
Young has not shined in Boston yet and it is not entirely his fault. He has never been consistently a part of the rotation, which is why it might be hard for him to find his groove on the offensive end. Young is a poor defensive player, and he still needs to put on a little more weight so he does get bullied by other wings and shooting guards.
Young has the athletic frame that a lot of teams look for in the NBA, and he could be a solid NBA wing/shooting guard one day, but it might not be for the Celtics.
There really is no room for him to play on this team at all and even though the Celtics do not have many wings, coach Brad Stevens has not used Young at all when the team is fully healthy. He barely uses Young with Crowder out.
The Celtics are a defensive-minded team (fourth in the NBA in defensive rating), especially when Crowder is in the lineup, and Young does not add a defensive presence at all for Boston. Young was supposed to take the next step this season after putting on more weight and adding a few more inches to his vertical, but he has not impressed.
Right now could have been another opportunity for Young to show that he can help the Celtics with Crowder out, but newly signed Coty Clarke has played better than Young and coach Stevens has not used Young much.
Overall
Time might be running out for Young in Boston because he really has not shown that he can answer the call in any situation. He is certainly not a draft bust yet because he has not gotten enough meaningful minutes to show if he can help out or not, but Boston might not be the right fit for Young.
More hoops habit: The NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time
The Celtics would love if Young could help them out on the wing and turn into a consistent scoring option, but he nowhere close to that.