Will James Young Remain With The Celtics?

The Celtics face some tough decisions in filling out the back-end of their roster and former first round pick James Young could potentially be the odd man out, A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet writes. “We’ve got some tough decisions at the end of the month,” team president Danny Ainge said. “We have about five guys fighting for two spots.” 

Young hasn’t impressed in limited minutes with Boston over the last couple seasons. In 60 career games, he’s averaging 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in just 8.9 minutes per contest. Blakely notes that he looks solid thus far in camp, showcasing his skills as a play-maker within coach Brad Stevens’ system.

As the No.17 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Young carries a guaranteed salary of roughly $1.8MM for the 2016/17 season and he’ll make slightly more than $2.8MM if the team picks up his option for the 2017/18 season. In many situations, players on the roster bubble with guaranteed deals have an advantage when it comes to making the team, but that isn’t the case in Boston. The Celtics brought 20 players to camp, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates, and 16 of those players have guaranteed contracts. Even if the team keeps Young, it will still have to waive a player with a guaranteed deal to get to a 15-man opening night roster.

Young is aware his spot on the Celtics isn’t secure, but he remains focused on improving his game during training camp. “I haven’t been thinking much about it,” Young said. “I know the system very well. It’s just about playing basketball. That’s the main thing; just try to contribute.” 

Let us know your thoughts on James Young and his chances to make the team in the comment sections below. We look forward to what you have to say!

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