NBA scout compares Trae Young to Jimmer Fredette

Oklahoma guard Trae Young has already drawn widespread comparisons to Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry for his sweet shooting and overall offensive versatility. But one NBA scout believes that Young could go in the other direction just as easily.

A feature by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that was published on Tuesday quoted an anonymous Eastern Conference scout who compared Young to one of basketball’s most infamous draft busts.

“Young’s the best passer I’ve ever seen in college basketball,” the scout said. “But he couldn’t guard you. … Jimmer Fredette.”

Fredette is, of course, the former BYU superstar who had a notoriously forgettable NBA career after being drafted by the Sacramento Kings No. 10 overall in 2011, finding himself out of the league for good within five years.

Indeed, there exist some surface similarities between Young and Fredette as the offensive wizard, defensive turnstile-type in a combo guard package. But at 19 years old, Young is already far more advanced as a playmaker (an NCAA-leading 8.7 assists a game this past season) than the four-year senior Fredette (a high of 4.7 assists a game in college) ever was. The NBA game also seems to be much more suited towards the offense-first perimeter player these days than it was back when Fredette was drafted.

Granted, size is a concern for the 6-foot-2 Young just as it was for Fredette. But with Young also managing 27.4 points per game this season (tops in the nation as well), there are many other scouts who believe the opposite is true.