The Boston Celtics drafted former Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart with their first of two picks int he first round of the NBA Draft and with the Celtics on the clock at No. 17 they drafted former Kentucky small forward James Young.
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Young was one of the stars on John Calipari’s team en route to the Wildcats playing for the NCAA Championship against the Connecticut Huskies. The 6-7, 215-pound swingman averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his lone season with Kentucky last year.
The offseason will continue to be a hotbed for Rajon Rondo trade rumors, especially in the wake of Smart being drafted to play the same position, but provided Danny Ainge doesn’t do anything rash and trade one of the top point guards in the NBA, the Celtics are building up the roster with young talent with the picks they acquired in separate deals for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers.
Twitter reacted to the news that the Celtics made Young their second of two first round picks on the night.
Yesssss celtics yessss! James young is a beast!!! Let's go
— Karlton (@KarltonMARZ) June 27, 2014
James Young to the celtics is the biggest steal of the draft...HUGE PICK
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) June 27, 2014
James Young will be our starting 2 guy this season watch, He has official 2 guard size, and fits Rondo's playstyle #CelticsDraft
— Daniel Canngieter (@Dcanngieter) June 27, 2014
I'm excited about James Young. Made some big time shots in some big time moments at Kentucky
— Ryan Tartaglia (@Ryan_Tartaglia) June 27, 2014
Celtics fans are happy with the pick of Young who was the second player taken from Kentucky in the first round after Julius Randle went seventh overall to the Los Angeles Lakers.