With the NBA Draft a mere two days away (it begins Thursday at 7 p.m. EST), there is no clear No. 1 point guard. The first floor general to go could be Alabama’s Collin Sexton, or it could be the fast-rising Kentucky Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — or, perhaps, Trae Young.
Young was the NCAA’s most electrifying player in his lone season at Oklahoma. He put up averages of 27.4 points and 8.7 assists per game, and he averaged more than 10 three-point attempts. Young is reminiscent of Stephen Curry — a comparison he’s heard ad nauseam.
As the draft approaches, however, teams have expressed concerns about Young’s relatively small frame. In this year’s NBA postseason, teams consistently picked on the smallest player on the floor — Curry, Terry Rozier, even strong defenders like Chris Paul. Will Young’s offensive contribution be sufficient to outweigh his defensive shortcomings?
Young is doing what he can to mitigate his deficiencies. In a new feature from ESPN, Mark Kriegel documents how Trae has transformed his body since the end of the college season.
Young is now 178 pounds, and he’s aiming to add eight more pounds before the NBA season commences. He can bench press 185 pounds 12-15 times.
Longtime strength and conditioning coach Travelle Gaines has been working with Young. He said when he met Trae, “He didn’t look like a basketball player. He looked like a model.”
Since late May, Young’s body fat has dropped from 7.7 percent to 5.2.
“I pushed him every day, and he’s never backed down,” Gaines said.
Young has also been refining his game with skills coach Alex Bazzell.
Trae to New York?
Multiple reports indicated the New York Knicks were interested in Young, and New York has the No. 9 pick. Per Jonathan Givony, however, Young did not have a strong workout with the Knicks.
Rumors also link the Atlanta Hawks to Young. Trae’s stock is unpredictable. It’s possible he could go in the top five or drop all the way out of the top 10.
Catch the draft Thursday on ESPN.
