National Basketball Association

Boston Celtics Finalize Roster; Cut R.J. Hunter, Keep James Young

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Boston Celtics finalize their 15-man roster to open the 2016-17 season

On his 23rd birthday, R.J. Hunter won’t be having much to celebrate. The Boston Celtics announced that James Young will be taking the last roster spot on the team, and they will be waiving Hunter.

Danny Ainge put it simply “James won the job.”

Hunter was drafted by the Celtics with the 28th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He even saw some meaningful minutes in a few games last season due to this impressive ability to shoot the ball from anywhere on the court.

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Both Hunter and Young came into the 2016 Summer League with expectations of improvement and leadership on the team. Neither seemed to step up, and it was in fact Terry Rozier who showed the most improvement and hunger for real minutes this season.

Still, at only 21 years of age, Young is going into his 3rd year in the league. Despite a slow summer league and preseason, he started to pick things up in the last two games of the preseason, while Hunter never seemed to find his groove. Young and Hunter are very similar players in which they are both very good shooters, but Ainge and company must see more upside in Young after seeing him finally looking comfortable on the court in the last two games and decided he was the one to keep.

R.J. Hunter’s father and college coach Ron Hunter had this to say, “He’s disappointed.  For a kid to get waived on his birthday isn’t the best way to celebrate your birthday.  But he understands this is a business and there will be another opportunity for him.”

The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets have the top two waiver spots, and with Hunter’s shooting ability it is entirely possible one of these teams will pick him up for extra fire power this season.

With the signing of forward Ryan Kelly late on Friday, it seemed like Ainge had some sort of trade in mind that could’ve included Young and/or Hunter, but things must’ve fallen through at the last minute, since Kelly was waived less than 24 hours later.

With Young’s potential, it’s unclear if he is being kept for more development or if could still be packaged in a potential trade in the future.  For now however, he will remain a Celtic.

The Boston Celtics season opener is only two days away when they take on the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden.

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