Mills: Intrigued by flashy Trae
Knicks president Steve Mills and Scott Perry started their Monday evening at the formal Bill Bradley tribute gala for the Hospital for Special Surgery, then were heading for a late-night dinner with Oklahoma’s electric point guard prospect Trae Young.
“He’s an intriguing player, intriguing talent,’’ Mills said Monday on the eve of Young’s private workout at the Knicks’ Tarrytown headquarters.
It was a perfect Knicks blend of past, present and future at the Museum of Natural History as Mills, Perry and new coach David Fizdale joined 1970’s legends Willis Reed, Earl Monroe, Dick Barnett and Walt Frazier at the gala to fete Bradley. The only notable absentee was Bradley’s close friend, former Knicks teammate and club president Phil Jackson.
Jackson, of course, won’t be running the Knicks draft for the first time since 2013. It’s on Mills and Perry as this week starts a ream of important individual workouts at their headquarters — with Young leading off.
“[Trae] is a little bit bigger than he looked on the court,’’ Mills added in his first remarks about any of the 2018 draft prospects. “You look at what he did with the players he had around him and what he did at the start of the season. You have to say this guy has a chance to be a special player.’’
Which is why if Young fell to No. 9 on June 21, the Knicks probably wouldn’t pass on him despite their glut of young point guards headed by 2017 lottery pick Frank Ntilikina. Young was once touted as a top-three pick but his draft stock tumbled after a massive late-season swoon that included a first-round overtime loss to Rhode island in the NCAA Tournament.
Mills was at that game and came away impressed nevertheless with the 6- foot-2 guard who led the nation in scoring and assists, and has been compared to Stephen Curry.
Asked about his passing prowess, Mills said, “When I got to see him play at the tournament, the first time I saw him live, I was really impressed the way he moved the basketball. He sees everything on the floor. He’s willing to release the ball and get it into a fast break. It was really impressive.’’
The Knicks may have to move up a few notches as Orlando has interest at No. 6 with the Cavaliers potentially honing in on Young at No. 8.
Mills has no issues with Young going solo at the workout. In fact, Mills said that could offer the Knicks more clues.
“I personally think it’s tougher for a guy to go oneon-zero,’’ Mills said, “because if there’s a fatigue factor, there’s no breaks for them. You have to manufacture breaks. For a guy, if you’re not in really great shape, you can look not as good in a one-on if you’re with two, three, four [guys]. I can understand why [they want it]. Agents don’t want their guy going up against each other. It’s part of the way the process is structured, from a players’ perspective it could be tougher.’’
If Young is off the board, the Knicks are considering drafting one of the small forwards with the same surname, Mikal or Miles Bridges. Villanova’s Mikal Bridges, the two-time NCAA champion, worked out with Chicago on Monday and said he’ll soon be headed to New York for the Knicks. The Bulls pick seventh and are said to be interested in Mikal Bridges.
“We view it as a great opportunity,’’ Mills said of the private workouts. “This is a chance to get to know them a little bit more than we did [at the combine] in Chicago from the 30-minute interview sessions. We’re excited about it. It’s a chance to really get to know these guys.”