Jalen Rose Gives Bold Trae Young Take
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Ever since Trae Young began hoisting up deep three's in college, people started comparing him to Steph Curry. Those debates only intensified once Young began knocking down shots from the logo in NBA games. Now, ESPN analyst and hoops legend Jalen Rose is making a bold claim about the future of Young's career.
Here is the full quote, so nothing is taken out of context:
"I would say Steph is going to put up a score that nobody is going to take down. But if somebody is, Trae Young is going to be the guy. Because he's 23, he's played like four years, he shoots with unlimited range, and he already a guy averaging 25 and double-figure assists for whatever it's worth." - Jalen Rose on ESPN NBA Countdown
I hope Rose is right. At this point in his career, Young is nowhere near the shooter that Curry is or has been. Curry is a career 43% three-point shooter and has averaged 3.8 makes behind the arc per game. Young is a career 34.9% three-point shooter and has knocked down 2.5 three-pointers per game on average. Young's outside shooting has noticeably improved this season, but he still has a long way to go to catch Curry.
However, Young is just a different player than Curry. For one, he is a much better passer. Throughout his four-year career, he's averaged 8.9 assists per game compared to Curry's 6.5. Not to mention, Curry has enjoyed a lot more help and better shooters as teammates throughout his career.
Additionally, Curry plays off the ball more than Young. The Hawks depend on Young to organize the offense, so it makes sense that he has a higher usage rate than Curry. The Warriors' free-flowing, democratic offense allows Curry to run off screens and wear out opposing defenses differently. One day, I could envision Young's game evolving into that, but it won't be the case anytime soon.
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