Oklahoma’s Trae Young might not work out with the New York Knicks, but he would love to play with Kristaps Porzingis. Could he find his way to MSG?
As the New York Knicks approach the NBA Draft on June 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they know they have holes to fill to improve on their 29-53 record.
One of the players that’s sure to draw their interest is Oklahoma’s dynamic guard Trae Young. While Young probably won’t be around when the Knicks draft with the ninth pick, he would be interested in playing with Kristaps Porzingis.
Talking with Marc Berman of the New York Post, Young spoke about potentially working out privately for the Knicks, as well as playing with Porzingis and where he thinks he ranks.
“It all depends on my agent and where he thinks I should work out…To be honest, that stuff’s really not up to me. It’s where my agent feels I should go.”
“I would love playing with a guy like Porzingis who can score, stretch the floor, who can do a lot, a lot of different things,” Young said. “But I could see myself doing some pretty good things with other teams, too.”
“I think I’m the best overall player in this draft,” said Young. “My main focus isn’t necessarily being the best player in this draft. My goal is being the best player in the NBA. I’m excited about having the opportunity to show people that I can play defense. I’m actually super-excited to show that from Day 1.”
Young, who averaged 27.4 points, 8.7 assists and 5.2 turnovers per game during his freshman season at Oklahoma, also acknowledged coming to the Knicks with their assortment of guards would be challenging.
The Knicks currently have Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Burke in their backcourt to ball handle.
“I think they all bring something different,” Young said. “We all have something different. I feel my overall skill set, my ability to make players around me better and my ability to help my team win is unique. The guys that are there are good point guards. There’s a reason why they’re in the NBA. Everybody has different types of games. I think mine is unique and different compared to theirs.”
We’ll find out in a few weeks whether Young will get the chance to play alongside those guards—or against them.
