Memphis Grizzlies 2018 Draft Big Board 3.0
No. 4: Trae Young
Trae Young has slipped down the draft boards over the past months, and it’s easy to see why. He cooled off from his blazing hot start, his turnover numbers are high (5.2 per game), and his team wasn’t that good.
Reminder Part 1: Ben Simmons played on a bad college team too.
Reminder Part 2: Trae Young still finished as the only player in NCAA history to lead the country in both points (27.4) and assists (8.7).
Placing him lower in mock drafts and big boards, something I claim to be guilty of in my latest draft post, totally discredits his spectacular play from the beginning of the season.
Related Story: Trae Young, future franchise savior?
Because he was on a weaker team, many teams started game-planning around him, double-teaming and trapping him quicker and more often. That won’t happen in the NBA.
On the Memphis Grizzlies, he’d have the opportunity to lead the second unit and to learn under Mike Conley — one of the most steady point guards of the past decade. With Conley getting older and coming off a heel injury, finding an apprentice like Trae Young would be huge for the future of this franchise.
After Doncic, Bagley and Ayton, it’s hard to pass on someone that could be the next Steph Curry.