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

[galipeautim]

Was at the game also and Young played better defense than Hunter, not sure who to cut, neither is outplaying the other.

If Young played better than Hunter defensively it is only because Hunter is horrible on that end. Young made some boneheaded defensive plays and did not look mentally present on the floor at all. I agree neither played like they want to make a team, but the contract situation should help Hunter keep the last spot.

[brackdan70]

Bentil out, and a tossup between Hunter and Young for me.

[ryaningf]

RJ all day. His feel, intelligence, and long range shooting/scoring potential is a great fit for this team. As others have noted, he's cost controlled for longer as well.

Bentil has no chance of making this team. Young has made strides and hopefully that's enough to entice a trade. Young + Rozier for Noel?

[leper-con]

I really could care less who makes the final cut. This player won't move the needle. All we need is for Brown to hit otherwise we are in trouble and have a major setback on our hands.

[Disinformation]

Even though I lean slightly towards Young over Hunter, given that both are still developmental guys and unlikely to be a factor soon, I wonder if the extra year of team control they have for Hunter could be the tie-breaker between the two for Ainge.

[Cyclical]

RJ HUNTER

[ryaningf]

Didn't like the pic and don't like him wearing #9 but this is high praise indeed:

"Demetrius plays very old school," said Jae Crowder. "We were laughing about that the other day because he doesn't hurt himself. He's not going to turn the ball over. He's going to run the offense. He's not going to do anything he can't do. And I like that about him. He comes to work every day. He was asking me, 'What's the biggest thing about being a professional?' I said get a routine on each day. I think that will help you out. And he just asks questions. He wants to know, he wants to learn. He's eager to learn."

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/10/boston_celtics_notes_rj_hunter.html

[Banks2Pierce]

At least Jimmy Young has made this a real debate. It's not a faux debate like real players vs. Perry Jones. This is legitimately a tough call and I need to see more games to feel comfortable about anything.

[Slartibartfast]

At least Jimmy Young has made this a real debate. It's not a faux debate like real players vs. Perry Jones. This is legitimately a tough call and I need to see more games to feel comfortable about anything.

I feel like Hunter struggling has more to do with the realness of the debate than Young surprising.

[Curmudgeon]

If I had to keep a player today, it would be Jackson. But let the preseason play out. The choice may be much clearer in two weeks.

[ryaningf]

If I had to keep a player today, it would be Jackson. But let the preseason play out. The choice may be much clearer in two weeks.

I give credit to Jackson for playing much better in preseason than he did in SL but I'd argue that a 2nd string SF (which is where Hunter/Young project at) is more important than a 4th string PG.

Jackson does provide depth if we decide to move Rozier or Smart for a big, however. If Jackson is for real, Rozier/Young/2018 #1 (ours) for Noel would solve a problem and square the roster.

[Dogen]

Young has been around for a year longer than Hunter, but he's still two years younger. All else being a toss up (and we're talking 15th man here anyway) I'd give the nod to James Young.

That Bill Simmons fist pump sold me!


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[Banks2Pierce]

At least Jimmy Young has made this a real debate. It's not a faux debate like real players vs. Perry Jones. This is legitimately a tough call and I need to see more games to feel comfortable about anything.

I feel like Hunter struggling has more to do with the realness of the debate than Young surprising.

For me, it's almost equal parts of both. Young's physique and game looks better to me and RJ's somewhat disappointed, but I'm not 100% down on his game.

[Green89]

I wonder if Danny is on the phones working trade scenarios so he doesn't have to cut these guys. Time will tell. We still could use a big and a shooter! Injuries around the league may lead some teams to make some new decisions with personnel.

[Curmudgeon]

I wonder if Danny is on the phones working trade scenarios so he doesn't have to cut these guys.

I'm sure he is, but other teams know that at least one of them will be available on a waiver claim without giving up any assets.

[robbie84]

James Young just doesn't have it. He's a stiff. His body language shows weakness. Even if he's 2 years younger than Hunter he's never going to develop a killer instinct. He's just a soft man on the court.

RJ has a far better offensive game and awareness. His defense has improved well over the last season and when push comes to shove, he's a true scorer and has the potential to be a much better overall player than Young.

[ParticleMan]

i think young has shown more this preseason than hunter. but i am swayed by the contract argument. unless young improves markedly this year there is no reason to re-sign him next year. meanwhile we still have another 2 years to see if RJ can develop. so if we had to cut ties with one it would be young. i didn't think about that before.

[Ed Pinkney]

Just noticed this article on the Hoopshype front page. Congratulations to both of them for making the list!

[cl2117]

I just do not see it with Young. Yes, he looks like a basketball player and he looks like he has a nice stroke, but he has just yet to produce anything, let alone anything on a consistent basis.

The guy got benched in summer league, that has to be a death sentence. That goes to show just how far away he is from contributing, you can essentially write him off from doing anything of substance this year. And then next year, even if he starts to come around, are the C's really going to bother trying to retain him after 3 sub-par years and an ok 4th year (I can't imagine him being anything more than that by the end of this contract).

RJ isn't much better, but at least he's showed a little something in terms of shooting last year (plus he must have done something to get Brad to give him some run). I've been disappointed, but I can actually see him having some kind of impact during the year as a guy Brad can throw in when the team is having a particularly cold shooting night and he's looking for someone to potentially stem some bleeding (i.e. knock down a couple threes). Young is so much of a mess I just can't see him filling that role. RJ might not be great in that role, if he doesn't knock down some shots he'll certainly be a net negative, but I have more faith in him making something of 5-6 mins of game time every blue moon than I do of Young.

The only way I can see Young as having any kind of advantage over Hunter is that his contract is slightly bigger. So if Ainge intends to throw whichever guy he keeps out of the 2 onto the pile in a trade down the line to help match salary, I can see Young sticking around. But from a basketball perspective give me Hunter.

[galipeautim]

I wonder if Danny is on the phones working trade scenarios so he doesn't have to cut these guys. Time will tell. We still could use a big and a shooter! Injuries around the league may lead some teams to make some new decisions with personnel.

My guess is if a guy gets traded it will be for a future second round pick. I don't think anybody's going to give us a piece that will actually help us this year for any of the players at the tail end of this roster (even if we combine them).