James

Young

This move was expected and we’re guessing he’ll be on a two-way deal, although we don’t know that for sure yet. He’s struggled in his NBA career despite being the first pick the Celtics got in the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade.

Young played at Kentucky and was the first pick the Celtics got in the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade, but he hasn’t had much NBA success.

Basically, the Celtics could just use that money to make a trade work financially. Young had a bad Summer League and really hasn’t played well since he was drafted. A change of scenery would probably be good for Young.

The Celtics gave guaranteed deals to Tyler Zeller, Gerald Green and Demetrius Jackson on Saturday, so Boston’s roster is nearly complete. None of those guys would crack the rotation on opening night anyways, so fantasy owners can ignore this.

The 20-year-old guard hasn’t been able to crack the rotation in his two seasons with the Celtics and has spent a lot of time in the D-League. He will play in the summer league, but he could be in jeopardy of losing his roster spot considering the Celtics have a total of eight picks in this year’s draft and they are obviously going to try and make a splash in free agency. Young will likely be joined on the summer league roster by Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter and Marcus Thornton.

“I’ve been putting a lot of work in,” he said. “So it’s just starting to show off and I’m just going to keep working until I’m where I need to be.” While the solid work ethic has never been in question, it’s going to take more than that alone for Young to make a real impact.

“He’s had two years to develop and play some games in the D-League and get some minutes in games and practices,” Ainge said. “The competition is real, I guess is what I’m saying.” Young finished Wednesday’s Summer League game scoreless in just seven minutes off the bench, which doesn’t bode well.

His roster spot with the Celtics is in jeopardy because he hasn’t improved much since joining the NBA, so this a huge summer for Young. The Celtics drafted Jaylen Brown with the third pick, so the path to minutes on the wings just got even more difficult for Young.

It’s the second game of a back-to-back set, so it’s not surprising to see these guys get an off day. Neither player will be a factor in standard fantasy leagues this upcoming season.

Young and R.J. Hunter—both former first-round picks with guaranteed contracts—are competing for one roster spot along with rookie Ben Bentil as well as John Holland. Young has shown absolutely nothing during his tenure with the Celtics to date, but the guaranteed deal may give him and/or Hunter an undeserved edge to stick around. Regardless, none of these players will be on the fantasy radar. For what it’s worth, the Boston Globe calls Hunter a “favorite to emerge from this group.”