Danny Ainge praises James Young following NBA D-League assignment time

Speaking with the media on Friday, Boston Celtics' President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge was undoubtedly faced with plenty of questions and respective pressing matters regarding the upcoming season. Still, he nevertheless managed to find the right opportunity to dish out very high praise to youngster James Young, who is returning to Boston for his second NBA season.

Though Young played sparingly for the Celtics last season, the NBA D-League is where he was really able to shine and truly strut his stuff. After appearing in seventeen games while on assignment with the affiliated Maine Red Claws, Ainge said the 20 year old was "one of the best prospects I've ever seen in the D-League."

And apparently, many coaches across the NBA's minor league happened to agree, with Ainge asserting, "I had numerous coaches tell me James Young was the best prospect they've ever seen in the D-League."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ainge said numerous D-League coaches told him James Young is one of the best prospects they&#39;ve ever seen.</p>&mdash; Jay King (@ByJayKing) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/647458915626655745">September 25, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Such an assertion would make sense, given that aside from also averaging more than 21 points per contest, Young made an impact on both ends of the floor for the Red Claws. He was undoubtedly key to the minor league club subsequently going on to secure the Eastern Conference's top seed last season. It'll be interesting to see if the Celtics believe Young could still use more seasoning (with Maine probably prepared to welcome him back with open arms), or if they believe he's potentially ready to contribute to the big league team instead.

Young was also named to RidiculousUpside.com's NBA D-League "All-Assignee" team for the 2014-15 campaign as well. Take a look here.