NBA Draft 2018 Rumors: Would Trae Young Be a Good Selection for the New York Knicks?
Young put himself on the map after a stellar freshman season with the Oklahoma Sooners
An injury to star Kristaps Porzingis led to the collapse of what was looking early on like a good season for the New York Knicks.
At one point, the Knicks were even in serious playoff contention.
Unfortunately for the Knicks and their fans, the 2017–18 season turned out to be nothing more than another lost campaign, but there's still something positive to be gained from all the losing.
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Because they finished with one of the worst records in the league, the Knicks will have the ninth overall selection in the 2018 draft.
The Knicks have actually drafted pretty well when they've been given the opportunities, and they will have another shot to select a contributor on June 21.
With still a little over a month left before draft night, the Knicks will now have to determine which player is worthy of being selected with the ninth overall pick.
Given the composition of the Knicks' roster, it would seem that drafting a wing player is the sensible move for the franchise to make, but recently, rumors are hinting that they could instead look to take one of the top guards in the prospect pool, with that being Trae Young of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Ray Young, the father of Trae, recently told the New York Daily News that the Knicks are scheduled to interview the sharpshooting point guard.
Young's father also indicated that Trae is an ideal selection for the Knicks because he is not the type of player who will be adversely affected by under the intense spotlight cast by the New York media.
Young is most certainly one of the most intriguing prospects included in this year's draft pool.
In a league where shooting is more valuable than ever, Young's long-distance prowess — he averaged more than 10 three-pointers attempted with the Sooners and connected on 36 percent of those shots, per Sports Reference — is going to help any team that drafts him.
Young's tendency to turn the ball over and his lack of elite athleticism have prevented him from being considered as the possible top pick in the draft, but he's still being projected as a lottery selection.
So, should the Knicks target Young during this upcoming draft?
As noted earlier, the Knicks could really use more depth at the wing position. Since there are wing prospects who project to be good NBA pros, the Knicks may be better off just selecting one of those players instead of cluttering up their guard rotation further by taking Young.
Furthermore, the Orlando Magic have the sixth pick in the draft and they are being linked to Young as well. There's a chance that the only way the Knicks may be able to select Young is if they move up in the draft by making a trade. In that case, it may be wiser for them to just stand pat and take whoever is the best player available when their turn comes up.
While Young is certainly one of the more exciting prospects in the pool for this year's NBA draft, it is not a necessity for the Knicks to just lock on to him.
