If I have a 21 year old who has already shown flashes of skill and has clear potential tog et better...and a 19 year old who's shown no signs of skill and you just have to HOPE he can develop some...then I'm going to take the 21 year old every time.
Young has obviously shown skill. And you would've missed out on some great NBA players.
Like who?
Can you make me a list of some players who put up first year stats similar to James Young, looked no better in their second year, and then went on to become great players?
I'm talking recent times here, like past 10-15 years.
You might be right and there might be a stack of them, but I can't think of any.
From what I can see the only thing Young is especially good at is shooting, but even as a shooter he's not spectacular - just good. It's not like he's Ray Allen 2.0 or anything.
Sure. "Great" is a loaded word, but here are some guys who stunk/couldn't get off the bench in year one, didn't do much better in year 2, and then became valuable players that most C's fans would want/have wanted on the team. Also, I will list first the player's age as a rookie. Keep in mind Young was 19, and will be younger than most or all of the players listed.
Kyle Lowry (20) -- Barely played his rookie year (10 games), and shot under 37% from the field. Year 2-3 he shot 25% from 3. Year 4 he improved to 27%. Since that time he's improved to a good shooter, and has upped his career average to 35%, and even made an All-Star game. His passing stats were always decent, but as Young doesn't compare since he's not a point guard, that's not fair. His shooting improved from bad to very good, beginning in year 5.
Arron Afflalo (22) - He shot 20% from 3 his rookie year, in way more playing time than Young had. He improved his 3-point shooting in year 2 to 40%, but saw his PER tumble from 10.2 to 8.9. (Young's PER last year was 8.7). He's since turned into a valuable wing, albeit not a star.
Jeff Teague (21) - Ddin't get much playing time and struggled during his rookie year. Under 41% from the field, and 22% from 3. Took his step forward in season 2.
DeMarre Carroll (23) - Stunk his first three years in the league, with poor shooting percentages, little playing time, and PERs of 8.5, 8.7, and 11.0, respectively.
John Wall (20) - Just looking at shooting stats, he was not good. eFG% of under .43 each of two years -- managed to go 3-42 from 3 his second year. PER okay because he did other point-guardy things Young isn't asked to do.
Anyway, there's a few, from the 2006-2011 drafts. I'm sure there are more -- just aimed for guards/wings like Young.