New York Knicks: Analyzing how Trae Young would fit with NYK
With many mock drafts predicting that Trae Young will land with the New York Knicks, it’s interesting to picture how he’d fit with the current roster.
Oklahoma Sooners point guard Trae Young has been one of the fascinating stories in college basketball this season. Early on, the freshman was scorching the opposition to the tune of 30.2 points and 9.5 assists per game while shooting 40.9 percent from deep.
Due in some part to tighter defense, Young came down during the final 10 games of the season, averaging “only” 21.2 points and 7.2 assists on 25.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Because of his late-season struggles, Young’s draft stock has slowly been in decline to the point where quite a few mock drafts have penciled the Sooner at No. 9, which happens to be the range in which the Knicks should be picking in this coming draft.
Imagining Young donning the orange and blue seems enticing for Knicks fans.
It was nine years ago when a baby-faced point guard out of Davidson was drafted one spot ahead of the Knicks’ selection, building a lifetime’s worth of what-ifs along the way.
Young may be small in both height and size, and his point guard capabilities may be lacking, but those were the same criticisms given about Stephen Curry, making it all the more appealing for the Knicks to draft what could possibly be the second coming of the two-time MVP.
Before anyone starts ordering custom-made Young jerseys, his fit within the Knicks has to come into question. With five players on the roster capable of the job, the Knicks already have a logjam at the point guard position.
Two of those players, Emmanuel Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina, are still projects in and of themselves. Bringing in a third at the same position would be tough to manage for head coach Jeff Hornacek.
As someone who’s best when he’s creating for both himself and others, how would Young fit with those two players?
The Knicks have experimented with Ntilikina at shooting guard, which still remains a work in progress, but Mudiay is someone who needs the ball in his hands, and at only 19 and 22, neither one looks to be going anywhere anytime soon.
At 6’2″ and 180 pounds, Young isn’t capable of playing the 2-spot, which means that he’ll likely always have the ball in his hands when he’s in the game. That would mean taking it away from Mudiay and Ntilikina, who need it just as much if they hope to develop.
This isn’t even mentioning both Trey Burke and Ron Baker, who at just 25 and 24 years of age, could also be projected as long terms pieces to the Knicks puzzle.
Let’s assume for argument’s sake that Young is able to find consistent minutes; enough to accelerate his development. Does his style of play even fit what the Knicks are trying to do?
Since his arrival in New York, coach Hornacek has pleaded with his players to push the ball in transition to get easier scoring opportunities. His players, for the most part, haven’t shared in his desires, as evident by their pace, which ranks 17th in the league.
As someone who’s fond of shooting early in the shot clock, Young could definitely help in pushing the ball to keep the defense on their toes.
Young might fit Hornacek’s style of play, but would he mesh with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis?
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As a shoot-first point guard, Young has the ability to use his aggressiveness to create for others, but that’s something that he has to want to do. The same applies to his shooting ability.
Young has a Curry-like ability to command the attention of all five defenders, and that’s leverage he can use to set up his teammates. That’s only if his point guard capabilities are to the point where he’s able to exploit that leverage, though.
Young has the potential to be a special player in this three-point centric league. Assuming he has the desire to turn his weaknesses into strengths, there’s no reason he can’t justify a top-10 selection.
If Young were to fall to the Knicks at whatever spot they have, it’d be tough not to take him.
One miniature marksman was within their grasp all those years ago. It’d be hard to pass up on another one.
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Having said that, if the New York Knicks want to take another step in their rebuilding process, they should do the smart thing and fill a positional need rather than pursuing the big-name player.
It’s time to buck the trend.