Boston Celtics’ James Young doesn’t want to play in the D-League
Rookie swingman James Young is impressing the Boston Celtics and has no plans to play in the NBA’s Developmental League this season
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With the 17th-overall selection, a pick acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett deal, the Boston Celtics selected swingman James Young.
Young had an injury that kept him out of the Orlando Pro Summer League, but now that he is back on the court, he is impressing the Celtics.
“I went through all of our scrimmage segments on film,” head coach Brad Stevens said on the season’s second day of practice. “Anything that was live at all, I went through in pretty good detail. The most impressive thing about James was he never really crossed my radar as making mistakes defensively, which is pretty impressive for a young guy.
“James picks up things really quickly. Sometimes you watch guys play, and you’ve got to find things that help them read the game better. The basketball plays come very easy to him. Some guys you have to talk through a 2-on-1. You don’t have to do that with James Young. He’s a savvy basketball player very naturally.”
He also has no plans of playing in the D-League, laughing off the question.
“Definitely not,” Young said from the Celtics media day in Waltham on Monday, adding, “If it happens, it happens, but I just want to stay here and get better like that.”
Young, along with the sixth-overall pick, point guard Marcus Smart, are a huge part of the Celtics’ rebuilding process and their development will be key the Celtics’ success.
James Young averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 40.7% from the field, 34.9% from three and 70.6% from the free throw line.
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