Going Young: Celtics select James Young with No. 17 pick
- Thread starter pdaj
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Apparently, Young is the third-youngest player in the draft, and according to this website - http://www.coachcal.com/30377/2014/06/young-might-intriguing-prospect-2014-draft/ - he grew an inch (two inches on wingspan) in less than a year so he still may be growing.
And Calipari has claimed that he's the fastest player in the draft, which is weird to me as few of the draft reviews said anything about his speed.
And Calipari has claimed that he's the fastest player in the draft, which is weird to me as few of the draft reviews said anything about his speed.
IMHO the Celtics took the two BPA's given where they picked. But they did not find their rim protector.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYKw3F_PxnI[/youtube]
Looks like NBA 3 range and not afraid to go strong to the rim.
Looks like NBA 3 range and not afraid to go strong to the rim.
I didn't like this at first, but I'm growing to dig it. Watching him, and reading the reports, he seems maybe a little too slow to be a good two, but I can see him being comfortable (if maybe a little short against some guys) at the three. If Bradley stays (which would probably mean not getting a guard for Rondo), then I think he's definitely a three-guard type of guy on this team. You can cross-match Smart and Bradley against ones and twos, the question is what Young can do against the 6'8"/6'9" small forwards that are becoming somewhat commonplace.
I loved the Smart pick, and was reluctantly okay with Young, but I'm not so worried about the rim protector situation. While I agree it's important, it doesn't need to be a particular priority either. Not because it's not key, but simply because it can be filled in later.Brickowski said:
Collect talent. Worry about fit and team building later. We can't all be the Spurs.
Young's shot chart is interesting in that he basically avoided mid range shots all season, so even though his overall efficiency is pretty good, it's not because he's a particularly good 3 point shooter or finisher around the rim, but mostly because he avoided the worst shot in basketball.
This is a typical Danny Ainge pick in that he takes someone in the mid-1st round that at one point was projected as a high lottery pick but a subpar freshman year partially attributable to system / fit knocks him down (I think Young was for a good while ranked around #3-5 in his HS recruiting class). Reminds me a lot of the Avery Bradley pick in that sense.
My worry with Young is that nothing he does jumps out as being particularly awesome at the college level (including basketball IQ), which means it's tough to project how he'll succeed at the NBA level b/c he doesn't really have one particular NBA skill. The good news is he's so young (heh) there's a lot of potential for improvement.
My other worry is he's a bit of a 2-3 tweener which may not be as much of an issue in today's game. Size-wise he looks great at the 2 and just OK at 3 (the 7' wingspan offsets his lack of height), but athletically he seems pretty mediocre by NBA standards without much upside (very low body fat %). So defensively, I want him to play 3 but offensively I want him to play 2 and bully other NBA guards.
Overall though, I like this pick. it's who I thought was the BPA and in real-time I did the fist pump at the exact same moment as Simmons.
My worry with Young is that nothing he does jumps out as being particularly awesome at the college level (including basketball IQ), which means it's tough to project how he'll succeed at the NBA level b/c he doesn't really have one particular NBA skill. The good news is he's so young (heh) there's a lot of potential for improvement.
My other worry is he's a bit of a 2-3 tweener which may not be as much of an issue in today's game. Size-wise he looks great at the 2 and just OK at 3 (the 7' wingspan offsets his lack of height), but athletically he seems pretty mediocre by NBA standards without much upside (very low body fat %). So defensively, I want him to play 3 but offensively I want him to play 2 and bully other NBA guards.
Overall though, I like this pick. it's who I thought was the BPA and in real-time I did the fist pump at the exact same moment as Simmons.
I like the Young pick quite a bit. The alternatives were not there as they were with Smart. The league destroys undersized perimeter shooting 2's and Harris is a short 2. Young is 18, has an NBA stroke, is athletic, very fast and one of the best finishers in the tournament last year. He's shown well against longer players and stepped up in the tournament.
The most exciting part is that he's only 18 and has a body frame that he figures to grow into. When people complains about results this doesn't bother me as he's playing as an 18 year old without the body strength he'll have in 5 years. High high ceiling for a 17th pick......ton of upside and there wasn't anyone else I liked at 17.
Not ready to contribute on a winning team right away but that doesnt apply to us anyway. Good get right here.
The most exciting part is that he's only 18 and has a body frame that he figures to grow into. When people complains about results this doesn't bother me as he's playing as an 18 year old without the body strength he'll have in 5 years. High high ceiling for a 17th pick......ton of upside and there wasn't anyone else I liked at 17.
Not ready to contribute on a winning team right away but that doesnt apply to us anyway. Good get right here.
So he's fast AND he's slow? Blacken &/or HRB: is one of you talking about quickness while the other talks about speed?
Agree with just about all of this. I don't think playing for the AAU Wildcats really did his game any favors. He has a really good looking shot with a nice release, but he was inconsistent. He flashed some slashing ability, but Kentucky's spacing wasn't always great. His first step looked okay, but not special. At 18 with his length, he'll continue to fill out and I think he'll grow into a 3 down the road, but for now, he's probably more of a 2. I think he'll be a legit scorer, which at #17, isn't easy to find.HomeRunBaker said:
zenter said:
I think one write-up said it best when it said that while Young does not possess a great burst or lateral quickness, he is exceptionally fluid and has a pretty good first step, particularly when going left.
Of course if he refines his shot as people are expecting, that his quickness play even better on offense.
I don't think he's slow at all and in the open court very fast. Young isn't explosive like Smart but he is "slithery" and can get through gaps without a great first step. As he gains strength he should improve his explosiveness too and is already a good finisher which again should improve once he grows into his body.zenter said:
He's 18. This is certainly a long term pick.
This pick really speaks to why I love Danny. This guy is not a stats projection guy, I dont think Morey would touch this guy with a 10 foot pole. He is all about projecting the talent he demonstrated, probably in very streaky spurts, from all of his games including high school. I obviously didnt watch that much of the kid, so I'm going to put my faith in Danny that he is seeing something that makes him have hope for him.
He almost reminds me of Deltone in that he seems kind of smooth and the game never rushes him, and there isnt one particular thing that he does amazingly well just an overall good basketball player. I have a feeling in camp we should get a feeling if he belongs or is completely overwhelmed which I think would happen really quickly.
Now, he shouldnt be a starter so the big question is can he do enough to be a role player off your bench? I could see that
He almost reminds me of Deltone in that he seems kind of smooth and the game never rushes him, and there isnt one particular thing that he does amazingly well just an overall good basketball player. I have a feeling in camp we should get a feeling if he belongs or is completely overwhelmed which I think would happen really quickly.
Now, he shouldnt be a starter so the big question is can he do enough to be a role player off your bench? I could see that
Yeah, I think so. My concerns are mostly defensive, as I've said in another one of these threads. He can run in the open court and he has a good first step, but I don't think he's quick enough to defend twos in this league and I think he's of only "okay" length to defend threes. Offensively, his size and strength should let him get where he wants against a two and against a lot of threes, I have no concerns there.zenter said:
My primary concerns are defensive also. Having said that he's 18 with a ton of mental and physical growth ahead of him if he's committed.Blacken said:
Unfortunately many kids enjoy the NBA lifestyle more than working to be better NBA players. That's why the drafting of these teenaged is such a crapshoot.
ALiveH said:
As you alluded to (and Stevens mentioned last night), I don't think the tweener issue is a big deal for between 2s and 3s. Young isn't going to be a primary ball handler, and isn't going to be playing inside. Of course on certain nights Young may have issues dealing with smaller quicker 2s, or bigger 3s than can post up. But everyone is going to have tough match ups in the NBA at times.
The wings in most offenses, including Stevens', are pretty interchangeable. I don't think being labeled as a 2 or a 3 really matters much. I think Smart's position (and being a 1/2 tweener in general) is potentially much more worrisome.
When I was reading up on the draft, one of the anonymous scouts said that the two things guys consistently improve during their time in the NBA is shooting and strength. Right now, those are two of Young's greatest weaknesses. He's got a solid shot but it is inconsistent, and he has a great frame but at 18 it is unsurprising that he isn't all that strong.
He's a good athlete, an efficient scorer despite not having a perfect jumper, and he has positional versatility. Overall I really like it. The two other options were Gary Harris, who has similar issues in developing his jumper and lacks size but is a better defender right now; and Jordan Adams, who is a transition scorer whose body best resembled Raymond Felton's.
He's a good athlete, an efficient scorer despite not having a perfect jumper, and he has positional versatility. Overall I really like it. The two other options were Gary Harris, who has similar issues in developing his jumper and lacks size but is a better defender right now; and Jordan Adams, who is a transition scorer whose body best resembled Raymond Felton's.
who said Young can't shoot? Check out his sweet shot here.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH-Z3WFVxUw[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH-Z3WFVxUw[/media]
More seriously, here's a good breakdown of Young, including some analytic tidbits: http://hardwoodhoudini.com/2014/06/27/boston-celtics-james-young-player-profile/?utm_source=FanSided&utm_medium=Network&utm_campaign=Around%20the%20Network. For example, Young shot 52% from the left corner 3, which was behind only Stauskas last year. Also, he included this comparison chart:
Where's he getting college shot chart data? Any clue how many attempts that was?wade boggs chicken dinner said:
bowiac said:
Maybe here: http://www.shotanalytics.com/2014/06/25/nba-draft-shot-chart-james-young/? I didn't see any raw data but I didn't look very closely.
I like that. He needs to be more consistent on his 3s, but he took basically no long 2s. He took the best efficiency shots, either 3s or in the lane. That is what an NBA SFs shot chart should look like in terms of shot selection.The Social Chair said:
One thing I love about Young is Calapari's recent track record of his guys being successful at the next level. Not only Wall, Bledsoe, Cousins, and Davis hitting it BIG......but you've got Brandon Knight starting, Patterson and Jones getting rotation minutes, and MKG will be a rotation guy at minimum due to his ability to defend 3's. These kids coming out simply don't miss!! The jury is still out on Lamb, Teague, Darius Miller, Liggins and Orton but those guys weren't high upside prospects anyway they were marginal prospects.
When Cal sends a kid with athletic upside to the league early his success rate is second to none. This is one reason I really like the Young pick.
When Cal sends a kid with athletic upside to the league early his success rate is second to none. This is one reason I really like the Young pick.
Sorry for the shitty embedding below. Young sent back down, presumably due to lack of minutes.
scott flummerton@ScottFlummertonCeltics Assign James Young to Maine Red Claws: http://on.nba.com/1FwWK4d http://t.co/epfhdGNn5I #Boston #teamceltics
1:59 PM - 18 Mar 2015