KNICKS EYING HOT ‘YOUNG’ GUARD:
A rude awakening collided with Trae Young at the Nike Camp almost two years ago, when Devin Booker showed up and absolutely roasted the kid from Oklahoma.
Young was only entering his senior year in high school — while Booker was headed to the NBA — but the youngster wanted to make an impression and decided to “go at” Booker.
According to a witness, Young was stripped on the first possession and dunked on. On the second sequence, Young missed a contested shot and was dunked on again — by Booker (again).
“It was four straight embarrassing possessions,” the witness, an NBA scout, said. “And I thought, ‘Well, Trae just realized this wasn’t high school basketball anymore.’”
Encouragement arrived later when Young got to the University of Oklahoma and, by all accounts, demonstrated great advancements in his playmaking and ability to read defenses. He became, without hesitation, the most prolific offensive player in the NCAA this year. But will the same humiliation — the one administered by Booker — greet Young when he takes the giant leap to face stronger and bigger guards in the NBA? Or, will those offensive explosions in college translate to stardom the way they did for Steph Curry?
It’s a question we posed, in one form or another, to several NBA talent evaluators — scouts, executives, agents. As you’d expect when assessing the future of a 19-year-old, there wasn’t a consensus.
CURRY OR FREDETTE?
One agent, BJ Bass, said Young “has the potential to be like Steph Curry.” An executive said Young was more like Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, the 6-foot-1 point guard who was a prolific scorer and was drafted third overall in 1990. An Eastern Conference scout, meanwhile, compared Young to an infamous draft bust.
“Young’s the best passer I’ve ever seen in college basketball,” the scout said. “But he couldn’t guard you.
“Jimmer Fredette.”
A FIT FOR KNICKS
These are evaluations the Knicks will have to contemplate ahead of the draft in June. Draft Express, the preeminent mock draft, current has Young chosen eighth overall by Chicago — despite the continued concerns about Young’s lack of size and poor defense. The Knicks now own the ninth-worst record in the
I could see his game really working (with the Knicks). Obviously you don’t want to take shots from Kristaps (Porzingis), but you put those two in pick-and-roll, that’s a pretty dynamic thing. WESTERN CONFERENCE SCOUT
Offensively, he’s Steph Curry. And Trae is a much better passer (than Fredette). SETH COHEN, AGENT SAC SPORTS RECREATION
Young’s the best passer I’ve ever seen in college basketball but he couldn’t guard you . ... (He’s) Jimmer Fredette. EASTERN CONFERENCE SCOUT
NBA, just a half-game ahead of the Bulls. It’s a pairing that makes sense and a storyline that a beleaguered fanbase will eat up: after the Knicks missed out on Steph Curry by one draft spot in 2009 (only to draft Jordan Hill (ugh)), they have an opportunity to land Curry’s second-coming. “It gives them a ball-dominant point guard which is probably the best for (Frank) Ntilikina — and Frank could always defend the better guard on the other team. So I could see that,” a Western Conference scout said. “I could see his game really working (with the Knicks). Obviously you don’t want to take shots from Kristaps (Porzingis), but you put those two in pickand-roll, that’s a pretty dynamic thing. “And if he learns to play off the ball where you can do stuff with Kristaps in the midpost where he could do his thing and he spreads the floor with his shooting ability, then you have something pretty good.”
THE SWAGGER
The Curry comparisons are easy. Young is the first player of such stature to model his game after the Warriors superstar, and you could see it in his Curry swagger — best exemplified by outlandish shooting range and lack of a conscience. “This is a kid who can shoot from the logo,” Seth Cohen, an agent at SAC Sports Representation, said in reference to Young’s unlimited range. Cohen has watched Young extensively while scouting potential clients. “Offensively, he’s Steph Curry.
“And Trae is a much better passer (than Fredette). They used to say it with Magic and Bird that they can see the next play ahead. Even when their pass wasn’t the assist, they were making the pass to get the assist. He has that vision, he has that IQ.” Bass agreed. “I don’t think he’s going to be a good defensive player, but really nobody is anymore,” the New York-based agent said. “I think that if you put up with what he did to what Steph did at Davidson, he’s light years ahead. And he’s playing in a huge conference. I mean, we’ve never seen the kind of numbers that this kid put up. I know at the end of the season he tailed off because teams were doubling and tripling him and blitzing him. But even in that last game against Rhode Island even though he wasn’t hitting the bombs he was finishing at the rim. I mean, if you watch the kid shoot free throws, it’s as pure as brand new snow. The kid’s stroke is great, his handle is great, his floor vision is really good, he finishes at the rim through contact. He does a lot of great things.”
SHOOTING STAR
Still, a scout raised a valid point: Young isn’t really as good a shooter as Curry, even when just comparing their college games.
In his three seasons dominating at Davidson, Curry shot 53 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc. He also knew how to play without the ball in his hands, which is something Young (42 percent on field goals this season, 36 percent from beyond the arc) never tried or learned — and it killed him when defenses began to load up.
“Could Young get to the point of being a very impactful player? Absolutely. But it’s a lot different than in college when you’re playing Texas Tech and the opposing point guard is also 6-1 and doesn’t want to play defense,” the scout said. “It’s a lot different when you’re going against somebody like Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving would chew this guy up right now. He’d just run circles around him. So there’s going to be a learning curve.”
BIG CITY LIGHTS
There’s also a concern that Young’s swoon in the second half of the season could be a sign of mental fatigue associated with pressure, a nono in the NYC spotlight.
The Knicks will have a chance to learn more about those aspects of Young’s personality during the draft process.
“He had a meteoric rise and pretty much a colossal fall over the course of a 30-game season,” a scout said. “It certainly would concern me going into that New York market when you’re talking to 20 media guys every day and you go 2-for-18 one night and they’re on top of you.
“It takes a special person to be in that market and that pressure and thrive in it. He has confidence, there’s no question about that. He has a presence and all that stuff. But I’d be concerned if I were the Knicks and that’s one thing I’d delve into and look for answers.”