Odd Man Out??? - Hunter Waived; Young Stays

[Leprechaun18]

I felt Danny messed up again, but both RJ Hunter and Young are NBA players.

[chakdaddy]

I would not have been upset to see both go.

Young is young. But so was Gerald Green. Sometimes players don't get it. Sometimes when they do it takes a really long time and they'll never get there without being cast out into the wilderness. I don't have much confidence that one or more players we draft next year in the first or second round won't beat Young out in the rotation. We also can only have just so many "projects" and as "projects" go I am putting all my eggs in the Jaylen Brown basket.

Hopefully he steps up to the next level. Because there are always talented players coming down the pipeline who are younger and hungrier.

Sad to see RJ go on a human level. Seemed like a decent enough guy who worked hard with what he had. But ultimately he just didn't have enough.

. Young is nowhere near Gerald or Jeff on talent/gifts though

[Green89]

Don't like cutting ties with a first rounder so quickly to add a vet minimum guy who likely will be out of the rotation by seasons end but it is what it is, this team wants to win as many as possible for free agency 2017 and Hunter is collateral damage. Here's hoping it helps land Blake Griffin much like feeding Turner and Sully minutes led to getting Horford

Gerald Green will help our team this season more than Hunter and Young could have combined.

In all actuality, with the way our team is so deep, RJ may have really ended up in the better situation. Maybe he'll stick with an NBA team and actually get minutes this year. Young's minutes will be strictly if someone is injured or resting. If we're all healthy come playoff time, he's going to be in street clothes every game. Have fun in the D-league and riding the pine this season, James, you've earned it.

[nowyouknow]

If Young can continue to rebound at an elite level.

And Kelly Oylnyk can get his shot off any time he wants.

James Young had a d-reb rate over 20% in the D-League last season. He's continued that elite defensive rebounding in the preseason with a rate over 19%.

Those numbers would have put him 2-3 or so on the team last season... and keep in mind he's a SG-SF.

Those are elite numbers.

[Homerclease]

Don't like cutting ties with a first rounder so quickly to add a vet minimum guy who likely will be out of the rotation by seasons end but it is what it is, this team wants to win as many as possible for free agency 2017 and Hunter is collateral damage. Here's hoping it helps land Blake Griffin much like feeding Turner and Sully minutes led to getting Horford

Gerald Green will help our team this season more than Hunter and Young could have combined.

In all actuality, with the way our team is so deep, RJ may have really ended up in the better situation. Maybe he'll stick with an NBA team and actually get minutes this year. Young's minutes will be strictly if someone is injured or resting. If we're all healthy come playoff time, he's going to be in street clothes every game. Have fun in the D-league and riding the pine this season, James, you've earned it.

Not if he plays like he did in preseason. The guy shouldn't even be in the rotation once smart is back.

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

Bad move. You want to beat the warriors you need both dead eye three point shooters in Hunter and Young. Celtics should have cut Horford.

[ddb]

Here is my over analysis of the final roster spot going to James Young.

1. Ainge/Stevens must really like DJackson. They must see something in this kid. Obviously he is really athletic....explosive even. Pretty good shooter as well. Honestly, he has a lot of similarities to Rozier. So perhaps they believe that with a season of development between Boston & Maine, that this kid gives them a high upside option that could replace a Rozier, Smart or Bradley if Boston were to move one of 2 of those guys in a trade.

2. The NBA needs to adapt new rules encouraging/allowing teams to fully utilize their D-league clubs. There is no reason any of these teams should draft a kid in the 1st or 2nd round and then have to waive him less then 12 months later because of a roster crunch. RJ Hunter & Ben Bentil should 100% be able to be optioned to Maine for the season... 2-way contracts similar to MLB and NHL need to be adopted. There has to be a way to make this possible & work in the CBA.

3. James Young was my pick to get cut. I get that he has "upside" and is still a very young player. But to Jae Crowder's point, if you're in the NBA you can either play....or you can't. JY hasn't contributed to anything yet. But Ainge/Stevens must see something in JY. Ainge said JY has never earned anything in his life. Hopefully this tough love will go a long way towards JY waking up and developing into a player that can help this team. The odds of him being a Celtic long-term are still stacked up against him. But he has a chance.

4. NBA Rosters should remain 15....but then teams should be able to keep 3 additional players under team control (not counting stash picks) as "floaters"...which means they have 5 players (2 from the big club) they can rotate between NBA and DLeague. Contracts wise they would need to pay full salary on the 3 players, but the salaries wouldn't count against the cap. There would need to be a bunch of rules that factor into all of this, but it's possible. NBA needs to figure it out.

[Curmudgeon]

See my post in the "Archie Goodwin" thread.

There will be a similar roster crunch next year, and the new "2-way" contracts may not fix it.

[chakdaddy]

James Young is the opposite of Jaylen Brown.

[GuyClinch]

Hunter seemed like a really gifted shooter - if you look at how hard of shots he took - and not just the percentages. He made DEEP threes and guys would come out on him too. But he was really unathletic. I thought Dan Dickau was pretty slow - but he at least moved athletically. This guy was slow and awkward.

I chalk up Hunter to another little example of how life is not fair. You can work hard, being a good soldier and even be a smart guy and you will get cut. Young pretty much was entitled his whole life in terms of basketball - and still he won spot..

Hunter is the anti Fab Melo. - But he ended up in the same place..

[GuyClinch]

James Young is the opposite of Jaylen Brown.

Don't see it - both were pretty big deals growing up playing hoops. Both five star guys. Some differences sure - but not at all opposites.

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/maple/104167

Hunter OTOH a 3 star guy - this guy wasn't considered a top prospect - and it turns out he wasnt.

[Froob]

young is younger, bigger, he can dunk and basically has the same potential shooting as hunter rn. thats the difference in the situation

Think he'll become something?

[LarryBirdsFingr]

young is younger, bigger, he can dunk and basically has the same potential shooting as hunter rn. thats the difference in the situation

Think he'll become something?

tough to say honestly, those flashes to me seem like flashes in a pan, not something thats going to start up into a real fire. hope i'm wrong but maybe the presence of Jaylen coming in at a similar position and similar age is really forcing him to put in the work. time will tell.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

young is younger, bigger, he can dunk and basically has the same potential shooting as hunter rn. thats the difference in the situation

Think he'll become something?

tough to say honestly, those flashes to me seem like flashes in a pan, not something thats going to start up into a real fire. hope i'm wrong but maybe the presence of Jaylen coming in at a similar position and similar age is really forcing him to put in the work. time will tell.

There's practice shooters than there's in game shooters. Some guys are money when the lights are off. Lights off? Voila! You got James Young. Turn them on and Voila! you got Terry Rozier.

[LarryBirdsFingr]

Think he'll become something?

tough to say honestly, those flashes to me seem like flashes in a pan, not something thats going to start up into a real fire. hope i'm wrong but maybe the presence of Jaylen coming in at a similar position and similar age is really forcing him to put in the work. time will tell.

There's practice shooters than there's in game shooters. Some guys are money when the lights are off. Lights off? Voila! You got James Young. Turn them on and Voila! you got Terry Rozier.

exactly, shaq used to be a shooter when he was real young, like sometimes it just doesnt translate to the real game in the NBA

[165bows]

Think he'll become something?

tough to say honestly, those flashes to me seem like flashes in a pan, not something thats going to start up into a real fire. hope i'm wrong but maybe the presence of Jaylen coming in at a similar position and similar age is really forcing him to put in the work. time will tell.

There's practice shooters than there's in game shooters. Some guys are money when the lights are off. Lights off? Voila! You got James Young. Turn them on and Voila! you got Terry Rozier.

Thinking back, James Young got a lot of buzz in the preseason in the fall of 2013, with reports along the lines of 'James Young is super young and is lighting up the Kentucky preseason practices. He looks as good as any player out there in this stellar recruiting class!"

Then the team wasn't quite as good as people thought and he was decent but unspectacular through the whole college season.

[Curmudgeon]

Then the team wasn't quite as good as people thought and he was decent but unspectacular through the whole college season.

Well, Young was by far Kentucky's best player in the NCAA title game (which they lost to UConn). That Kentucky team had the Harrison twins, Randle, Cauley-Stein and Poythress. Young was also the leading scorer in their win over Wisconsin to get to the title game.

[165bows]

Well, Young was by far Kentucky's best player in the NCAA title game (which they lost to UConn). That Kentucky team had the Harrison twins, Randle, Cauley-Stein and Poythress. Young was also the leading scorer in their win over Wisconsin to get to the title game.

Yeah I guess my point is at that time people were looking at Randle as potential top 5 pick, the Harrisons had some lotto talk, even Poythress had some first round projections. So the idea that this super young kid is outplaying all these guys was more impactful in that light, as opposed to our current perspective, where he was able to outplay some borderline starter or second round draft types in a college preseason practice.

[Curmudgeon]

IMHO Ainge put it fairly succinctly. Until recently Young was resting on his laurels: McDonalds All-American, top ten prospect, final four all tournament team, first round pick, etc. He never had to work for anything. In the NBA these days, those credentials and $2.75 buys a small latte at Starbucks.

[12buckets]

I would have kept Young, but I also agree that it really is minimally impactful. Both are gone next offseason. My tiebreaker is DLeague performance. James Young dominated. Hunter still disappointed. If Hunter couldn't step up in DLeague, then I don't have much faith for the big league.

Would James Johnson still be in the league if he wasn't LeBron friend? That's the "at best" ceiling I see for RJ. Young still has a chance to develop into a Courtney Lee type.

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