Having worked out for the Knicks today, Oklahoma guard Trae Young will visit the Magic next, then has two more auditions with Eastern Conference lottery teams on his schedule, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. As Zagoria tweets, Young will work out for the Hawks and Bulls.
According to Zagoria (via Twitter), those four workouts are currently the only ones Young has lined up. It’s possible that more clubs could be added to that list between now and draft day (June 21), but that’s unlikely, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post.
The Hawks (No. 3), Magic (No. 6), Bulls (No. 7), and Knicks (No. 9) all have top-10 picks, suggesting Young is unlikely to fall further than that.
While it would be a surprise to see him go as high as No. 3, Young has generated plenty of interest from multiple teams in the top 10. The Magic have been linked to the 6’2″ guard in several mock drafts, the Bulls are said to be “enamored” with him, and Berman has suggested that the Knicks probably wouldn’t pass on him if he slips to No. 9.
Young led the NCAA with 27.4 PPG in 2017/18, en route to a first-team All-American season. He also ranked first in APG (8.7), adding 3.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG.
If the Hawks move Dennis Schroder, I could very well see them taking Young at #3. He would be odds-on favorite for Rookie of the Year if that happened as well.
I could see the Hawks being interested in Young, just not at 3! They should trade down if Tra is their guy.
But for the record….. The Hawks should not yet and reinvent the wheel! Unless they get an insured offer, draft whoever of Ayton, Donic, or Bagley that falls to them at 3! If you don’t want one of those 3 ( and it would be a mistake not to), trade down!
What if you trade down and he gets taken before you pick? The difference between the #3 prospect and Trae Young is not THAT high. Not to mention the fact that in order to trade down, you have to have a willing partner. The #4-8 prospects are so jumbled that the only real safe pick to trade down to is #5. Trade down to 6 or lower and someone will snap him up before you pick.
I beg to differ….. the difference between Bagley/Donic ceilings at 3 over Young at 5/6 is huge. We don’t know if players will reach their ceilings, however the combination of their ceilings and work ethic to Youngs is a wide margin.
If you trade down it’s always a risk. But you don’t get nervous and take a guy at #3 that no one else would. Remember Sheldon Williams?
No one should ever remember Shelden Williams. That’s unfair. There was also a time when people said you should never draft Kevin Durant over Greg Oden because Oden’s ceiling was so much higher despite his actual performance being lower.
There is a difference between taking a guy out of nervousness and just thinking he is the best fit for your team. These mock drafts and scouting in general are not an exact science. All it is is the opinion of one person trying to tell the future of another person.
As far as work ethic goes, do you know these guys personally? That seems like a weird thing to just throw out there. I have never read anything detrimental about Young’s work ethic. Most of the stories that mention his work ethic PRAISE it.
Injuries derailed Odens career! Should Por have known that one of his legs was longer than the other, so he may eventually have injury issues? Yes! But you can’t compare on court because he was injured and that’s a hell of a thing to try to predict with a player that does not have an injury history!
And while KD was record setting in his one season at Tex. Oden dominated every game played on both ends while leading the team to a 35-4 record and damn near a National championship…. I’ll never knock Oden, he couldn’t control his injuries, his parents could’ve though!
However if Por would have taken KD with #1, it would have only been a mild surprise. I think every team had them 1-2. Reaching for Tra at 3 would surprise everyone. For the record I like Tra, just not at 3. I think he’s more Steve Nash/ Mike Bibby than Steph Curry!
I bring up Sheldon because Atlanta was the only team taking him that high! You just don’t reach like that, you trade down and take the chance if that’s your guy. We also have other ways of getting into the 5-10 than trading down.
Lastly Workethic…. everyone has raves about Bagkeys work ethic and motor! Everyone! Everyone! You can even see it on the floor! So please don’t take tgat from the kid, because you prefer a different player….. Many have questioned Aytons motor and work ethic, you are welcome to google it could he be so athletics gifted tgat it doesn’t matter aka Shaq? It’s possible.
Besides, odds are that only 1 of the “top 3” prospects of Ayton, Doncic, and Bagley will become stars. One will probably end up as a decent role player and one will probably be a complete bust. It’s not like you would be passing over guaranteed Hall of Famers.
Lol…. that’s an opinion not odds. All prospects have bust potential.
It’s not an opinion, it’s analysis. Go back and look at the top 3 in practically every draft. That’s usually how it unfolds.
Still an opinion! Putting odds especially those odds are just silly! Some drafts are great, some are bad. 1 our if 3 bust, is just plan silly!
2017… are Fultz and Lonzo bust
2016… are Simmons, Ingram, or Brown
2015…… Oakafor is a bust… everyone knew his lack of athleticism, defense, and perimeter shooting, Philly should have know. They made a bad pick
So just in the last 3 yrs your odds are off….. and before you try to make yourself right with D. Russell 15pts and 5 asst this year. Brandon Ingram 16 pts, 5 reb…..
So it’s silly for me to determine 1 out of 3, but it is not silly for you to use the most recent 3 drafts to justify your opinion. I’m not going to claim Russell or Ingram are busts, but I’m not going to make them stars either. It’s too early for them. Busts can’t be determined in 3 years. Let’s look at a 10 year period starting from 2004-2013
2004 – Howard – star, Okafor – decent, Gordon bust
2005 – Bogut – decent, M.Williams – decent, D.Williams – star
2006 – Bargnani – bust, Aldridge – star, Morrison – bust
2007 – Oden – bust, Durant – star, Horford – decent
2008 – Rose – star, Beasley – bust, Mayo – bust
2009 – Griffin – star, Thabeet – bust, Harden – star
2010 – Wall – star, Turner – bust, Favors – decent
2011 – Irving – star, Williams – bust, Kanter – decent
2012 – Davis – star, MKG – bust, Beal – decent
2013 – Bennett – bust, Oladipo – star, Porter – decent
Now it doesn’t work exactly and you could probably make a case for several of them being borderline, but with three categories you have to make decisions. But on average it is about a third as stars, a third as busts, and a third as decent. Guys like Oden busted for a different reason than others, but he still busted.
Of course there are some years better than others where the worst of the lot is still okay like MKG or Ben Gordon or Evan Turner, but there are also years where the best of the lot is Deron Williams or John Wall (who has really not been THAT good) or Derrick Rose (who I called a star, but he was really only great for one year).
Lol… guess you missed the part that said good drafts and bad drafts. And I wasn’t justifying, just pointing even by your stat recent history doesn’t support your argument!
And again even by your argument Victor just became a star, so what would you have called him this time last year? Beal decent? That just goes to show you’re trying to make yourself right! Despite Victors great year, most would take Beal over him and you have him as decent. Your argument doesn’t hold water! Again there are good drafts and bad drafts. Teams do stupid ish and reach for players and you list them as bust. No way Oakafir should have been a top 3 pick, Bennett wasn’t on any ones radar at #1, then Cle tried to reinvent the wheel and picked him#1! Same goes for Bargnani ( spelling?). If anything your argument proves my point not to reach!
The Hawks should take the top talent left on the board at #3. If Bagley, Ayton, o Donic is not who they want, take the risk and trade down! Don’t join your so called 1 in 3 bust that are reaches!
I don’t care if you don’t agree with me, which you obviously don’t, but stop belittling me. There is no reason for that.
BTW, you are seriously overrating Beal. His career comparisons are Kenny Smith and Joe Johnson. Good players, but not stars. Just like Beal.
How can you say Okafor shouldn’t have been a top 3 pick? Most people thought he should have been #1 over Dwight Howard. Unless you think I am talking Jahlil. Which a lot of people thought he should have been #1 over KAT as well. But you don’t care. Enjoy your life. I’m done here.
I don’t care that you would try to mislead the convo this wat! How am I belittling you when you are ignoring my points in the argument because they prove your theory wrong! Seriously dude? No one belittled you and you know it. You can’t prove your point and now you’re making it something it’s not!
I’m not overeating Beal, you’re underrating him! They’re not giving out 5/127 for just decent players! Please go with the facts!
No.6 to the Magic
Ayton, Donic, Bamba, Bagley, Jackson Jr., Young…
I can see him going for Orlando at #6. Probably he could be #5, but Dallas doesn’t really need another PG, so it probably goes to Orlando, I think it will be
#1 Ayton
2 Doncic
3 Bagley III
4 Bamba
he could well be after this for ability but as I said Dallas probably will use their pick in someone like Jackson Jr, though I don’t think his ceiling is as high or as good as Young, is a better fit for Dallas. Or Dallas could go for Porter Jr, in which case Orlando still gets Young & Jackson Jr goes to Chicago at #7
I agree