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NBA Draft 2018: 5 best lead guards available

By Rucker Haringey

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners drives to the basket against Fatts Russell #2 of the Rhode Island Rams in the second half during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at PPG Paints Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners drives to the basket against Fatts Russell #2 of the Rhode Island Rams in the second half during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at PPG Paints Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners is defended by E.C. Matthews #0 and Andre Berry #34 of the Rhode Island Rams in the first half of the game during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners is defended by E.C. Matthews #0 and Andre Berry #34 of the Rhode Island Rams in the first half of the game during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

1. Trae Young

If the NBA Draft would have occurred in December it’s very possible Trae Young would have been the top pick. Unfortunately, his struggles during the second half of his collegiate season have pushed his draft stock down somewhat.

Fortunately for Young, he’s still going to end up as a top-10 pick. He’s too good of a shooter/scorer to fall very far in this year’s draft. He may be benefitting from relatively soft competition, but he’s clearly the best lead guard in this class.

The dream for Young is to blossom into a Stephen Curry-like scorer at the next level. He’s probably a little too small to really reach that level of efficiency, but he does have excellent range. Add that to his unique ability to create space off the dribble and it’s easy to see Young being one of the most dangerous scorers in the league.

Defensively, it’ll be a massive victory if he ever manages to become anything approaching average. His lack of size, instincts and short wingspan will really limit his effectiveness on that end of the floor.

That just means Young will need to be an electric scorer to be a high quality starter. Don’t sleep on his ability to distribute either. He wasn’t surrounded by great talent with the Sooners, but he showed some really good vision out of their pick and roll sets.

Next: 5 most overrated players in the NBA Draft

Teams drafting Trae Young with the belief that he can blossom into Stephen Curry will be disappointed. That doesn’t mean he isn’t worth taking. He can still be a nightmare for opposing defenses even if he isn’t as good as the Golden State star.

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