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2018 NBA Mock Draft: Full first round before 2018 NCAA Tournament

By Maxwell Ogden

MADRID, SPAIN - JANUARY 25: Luka Doncic, #7 guard of Real Madrid during the 2017/2018 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season Round 20 game between Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul at Wizink Arena on January 25, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Sonia Canada/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - JANUARY 25: Luka Doncic, #7 guard of Real Madrid during the 2017/2018 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season Round 20 game between Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul at Wizink Arena on January 25, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Sonia Canada/Getty Images) /
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NORMAN, OK – FEBRUARY 17: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners warms up before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Lloyd Noble Center on February 24, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Longhorns defeated the Sooners 77-66. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK – FEBRUARY 17: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners warms up before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Lloyd Noble Center on February 24, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Longhorns defeated the Sooners 77-66. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

player. 27. . Point Guard. Oklahoma Sooners. Trae Young. 9

Age: 19 (9/19/1998)
Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’2″, 180 pounds, 6’4″
Slash Line: .420/.361/.861
Season Averages: 35.3 MPG, 27.4 PPG, 8.8 APG, 3.9 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 3.7 3PM

With Mikal Bridges and the top centers in the 2018 NBA Draft off the board, the New York Knicks need to look further down the big board. The top three options at this stage of the selection process are Miles Bridges, Collin Sexton, and Trae Young.

I’m not entirely sold on this pick myself, but if the opportunity presents itself to select a prospect of Young’s caliber, the Knicks should at least consider doing so.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been exposed as a one-man show, but that doesn’t make Young any less intriguing. He’s an elite three-point shooter with a criminally underrated ability to facilitate an offense—not distribute the ball, but facilitate.

Even if Young doesn’t become an elite scorer in the NBA, his ability to run an offense with his advanced court vision and crisp passing ability.

For the Knicks, having a player who can lead teammates to their spots with their passes would be an upgrade over the post-Mark Jackson era. Add the fact that Young can at least work off-ball as a shooter and he becomes a more than ideal fit.

With a core of Young, Ntilikina, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kristaps Porzingis, and Enes Kanter, the Knicks would have the offensive firepower to compete.

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