Celtics Draft Pick Profile: James Young

James Young, the 6-6 wing player the Celtics drafted with the seventeenth pick of the first round, has the potential to be a very good scorer in the NBA.  As the video shows, he has an NBA-ready jump shot and the kind of athleticism required to be a successful shooting guard/small forward.

Young's strength is his perimeter shot.  In his one season at Kentucky he shot 40.7% from the field and made 34.9% of his three-point attempts.  I would expect those numbers to improve playing in Brad Stevens' offense, which is much more structured than John Calipari's dribble-drive offense and is more geared to getting open three-point shots off of screens than Cal's.  Also, Andrew and Aaron Harrison were not exactly looking to break the SEC record for assists last season so Young should get more consistent looks at the basket than he did at Kentucky playing with actual point guards, especially if the Celtics hold on to Rajon Rondo.

Another strength to Young's game is his athleticism.  His 28-inch vertical leap is not off the charts but his 7-0 wingspan makes it seem like he's jumping higher than he actually is because his long arms let him get the ball over his defender and to the rim.  If you don't believe me, check out the highlight of his dunk over two UConn defenders in the national championship game early in the video.

As for areas where he will have to improve to become a consistent contributor in the NBA, Young has to get stronger, learn to defend at the NBA level, become a better ball handler, and develop the ability to go to his right hand.  With his jump shot and athleticism, Young should be able to find his way on to the court for the Celtics in 2014-2015 but if he wants to live up to his potential, he does need to work on improving all of those other areas of his game.  If he does so, the Celtics just drafted a player capable of helping them get back in to contention in the Eastern Conference.  If he does not, the Celtics will be shopping him to a contending team with a specific need for a shooter in a couple of years.