NBA: 10 impact rookies of 2014-15

7. James Young- SG, Boston Celtics

Finally, Boston has a player who can make outside shots!

Last season, the Boston Celtics shot an abysmal 33 percent from three-point range, which ranked 28^th in the NBA. It makes me want to throw up just thinking about how bad they were. Former Kentucky Wildcat James Young should help in the three-point department right away.

Young didn’t play in the summer league, but at Kentucky, he made 35 percent of his three-point attempts. I’m confident his low numbers were due to Kentucky’s struggling offense at times and his tendency to force shots. That should change with a more a different style of offense, more playing, and less trying to figure it all out at the same time.

At 6-6, Young has the size to also play on the wing in the NBA. Athletically, he’s not a freak, but he definitely has the quickness and vertical to get into the lane and finish over defenders, like this jam in the national championship:

I’d expect a little of that next season in the NBA, and a little of this too:

If Celtics’ head coach Brad Stevens knows what’s good for the team, Young will get some run right away with the Celtics even though the backcourt is fairly crowded with Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, and Marcus Smart. On the wings, the Celtics also have Jeff Green, Gerald Wallace, Evan Turner, and Marcus Thornton. Rondo will likely be traded sometime during the season, which will open up more room for Young in the backcourt.

I can see the possibility of Young buried on the end of the bench while Turner, Wallace, and Thornton give the Celtics the best chance to win right now; but come on, the Celtics are playing for the future and the only way to do that is to get their young guys some playing time. Stevens is smart enough to see that, and that’s why I think Young will be a solid role contributor next season for the Celtics.