Trae Young is one of the NCAA’s most hyped, dynamic point guard prospects in a long time. But how does he project into the NBA and onto the Orlando Magic?
Whenever a player impacts the league like Stephen Curry has, NBA teams and scouts scour the ends of the earth for the next iteration of that player. It happened with Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James and countless more superstars. And it rarely works out that way.
Whenever a player is touted as the “next” something, he often ends up either carving his own path like Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter or LeBron James (all touted as the next Michael Jordan) or utterly failing to live up the hype, like Harold Miner (another next Michael Jordan), Darko Milicic or Yi Jianlian (drafted in the wake of Dirk Nowitzki and Yao Ming‘s successes).
When Hall of Fame talent comes along, there is rarely a “next.” They influence young players, the game evolves and those players build upon their contributions.
Trae Young’s style of play — particularly his pull-up threes from the logo — clearly has Stephen Curry’s influence. But it does no one any favors to box him into Curry’s mold. It is a square shape and a round hole. Both are unique players, with unique flaws and their own positive traits that have led their teams to construct offenses around their talent.
Young is an impressive playmaker, a next-level off-the-dribble shooter and a skilled ball handler. He will need to improve his finishing below the rim, off-ball movement and defense to reach his ceiling. But his ceiling is as high as just about anyone’s in this draft.
So, let’s dive into it.