Boston Celtics: Early look at 5 2018 NBA Draft prospects, Part 1

4. Trae Young

Height: 6’2″, Weight: 180 lbs
Age: 19
Position: Point Guard
Stats: 29.6 PPG, 10.7 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 47.5 FG%, 41.3 3P%

• Player Comparison: Stephen Curry
• Ceiling: All-Star
• Floor: Sixth Man

The Celtics don’t need another guard on their roster, but, Trae Young might be too good to pass up on. The only reason he is not further up on this list is because of the amount of guards they have on their roster already. The team will not be moving on Irving anytime soon, especially because he is only 25 years old.

Beyond that, the Celtics are running Jaylen Brown as their 2-guard. Before the Gordon Hayward injury, the team was running three small forwards in the starting lineup. The team doesn’t have a true shooting guard on their roster. Off the bench, the team is running a two-point guard lineup with Smart and Rozier.

Things could be a little cloudy in the near future, with some of these players’ contracts expiring. Smart is set to be a restricted free agent this offseason. In the 2019 offseason, Irving has a player option and Rozier is a restricted free agent.

In the case Boston doesn’t want to throw so much money at one player or another, they could look to bring in Young to fix that. This kid is too talented to look over because you already have three good point guards.

Young leads the entire Division I in points and assists per game. In about 32 minutes of play, he is scorching offenses with his ability to score the ball. With his impressive 41.3 percent from 3, this kid will be able to become one of the best shooters this game has seen. That is not an exaggeration, just look at some of his shots he takes.

His game is so closely related to Steph Curry because he can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. Whether that’s under the rim or 10 feet beyond the 3-point line. When he isn’t scoring on you from anywhere on the floor, he has the vision to get his teammates involved. His 10.7 assists per game is crazy high for someone who is almost scoring 30 points per game.

Much like Curry, Young is not the best defender. He is undersized for his position at 6’2”, and lacks the type of athleticism and height you’d like for your guard. Opposing teams will have the ability to run past, or shoot over the top of him. He does average almost two steals a game, but it helps that often times college players make a lot more mistakes than the pros.

Luckily for the Celtics, they are good at defense. If they were to draft Young, they are getting a soon-to-be elite offensive threat, and maybe over time he can become an average defender. If he never figures things out on the defensive side of things, Boston’s defense is already good enough that it will hopefully mask any problems moving forward.

Boston has had a hard time scoring the ball off the bench this season. Adding Young could help this issue moving forward. He is one of a kind, and a rare talent – two things Boston can’t ignore.