Has the draft world done a complete 180 on Trae Young? He was America’s darling for a majority of the college season until his insane hot streak began to fizzle out and Oklahoma barely made the tournament. They probably shouldn’t have gotten in at all. But due to being at the forefront of college basketball, and everyone having nitpicked him to his core, has he become underrated?

There was a time where I was sold on the fact that Trae Young wouldn’t be able to survive in the NBA and would flame out quick. I thought he’d end up like Jimmer. Sitting here now, a week away from the draft, I’m backtracking really quick. I think I just saw the short and little frame and just wrote him off. I wish I hadn’t done that.

He is the same size as Shabazz Napier, who played 74 games this year for the 3-seed Blazers, and Young is only 19. I promise he’ll put on weight. I’m not comparing him to Shabazz Napier, lol, but there are people in the league that are as small as Young and can still play a lot of games over the course of a season.

Let’s just sit back and really digest Trae’s numbers, 27 ppg and 8.7 rpg on .42/.36/.86 shooting. The 3PT% may scare you but his numbers are going to dip when he is the only capable basketball player on his team. The next two leading scorers on his team were Christian James and Brady Manek. WHO?! They averaged 11.9 and 10.2 respectively. That is LeBron and this year’s Cavs team in the playoffs. He was playing with the guy that gets picked last at recess. In the biggest game of the season, the NCAA Tournament game, he went for 28-7-5 on 50% shooting, in a loss. Because the second leading scorer, Jamuni McNeace, only had 14. LeBron leading the YMCA Cavs in the playoffs type stuff.

So why are so many people low on Trae Young now?! He has range from anywhere in the gym. He can create his own shot with the space he gets from his lethal stepback. When he drives to the basket he has crazy touch on his floater that he can put above anyone too. Oh yeah, his passing is just as good as his shooting. He’s an absolute maestro when it comes to the pick and roll. He will probably struggle on switches in the NBA but so does the best point guard in the league, Steph Curry. But nobody cares because he pulls from 30 finishes in the lane and can always find the open man. So he gives up a few buckets a game late in the shot clock when a guy isolates on a switch, oh well.

Trae needs to go to a place where he can take his 20 shots a game and have his screw-ups not lead SportsCenter every night. He needs to go to a team where he can have his struggles as a small guard not be ripped apart by the media every night. Curry had his shitty nights when he was growing up in Golden State. Kyrie had his screw-ups when he when he was in Cleveland after LeBron left. Lillard had rough patches in Portland early. I think the best place for Trae to go would be Orlando at #6. He can take his 20 shots on a team with no expectations and grow through the hard times early in his career like the guards in the league now did. Nobody is staying up to watch Magic highlights on SportsCenter. His struggles won’t be broadcasted everywhere. And he would definitely an awesome League Pass game to turn to when he is feeling it in a game. He’d start right away in Orlando and be handed the keys so he could grow. Shelvin Mack isn’t going to hold Trae back.

Do it Magic, pull the trigger at #6.

Photo by: Kevin Jairaj – USA TODAY Sports