{"id":66172,"date":"2024-03-06T07:38:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T12:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=66172"},"modified":"2024-03-06T07:38:31","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T12:38:31","slug":"hawks-trae-young-candid-trade-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/06\/hawks-trae-young-candid-trade-rumors\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks Star Guard Candid About Trade Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young<\/a> sat down with Bleacher Report\u2019s Taylor Rooks, discussing myriad topics related to his young but enthralling career.<\/p>\n

Trae Young: Atlanta \u2018Where I Wanna Be\u2019<\/h2>\n

During the sit-down with Trae Young, Taylor Rooks broached a sensitive topic, seemingly to Young\u2019s amusement. Asking the 3-time All-Star how he felt about being named in trade rumors, Young offered a curious but measured response:<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the greatest players ever have been traded,\u201d Young says. \u201cSo who am I to be just here mad or feeling unwanted or feeling a certain way? If you don\u2019t want me, then okay. Someone else will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“I wanna win… if that’s in Atlanta, that’s where I wanna be.”@TheTraeYoung<\/a> responds to hearing his name in trade rumors \ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n

(via @taylorrooks<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/DXhCBMrfHC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Asked if he\u2019ll be with the Hawks next season, Young offers a \u201chopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve never won a championship in Atlanta,\u201d Young explains. \u201cMe getting drafted there felt like a match made in Heaven. This is something I wanna do. Like I can defeat the odds here\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Showing a rare level of confidence as he expressed his desire to make NBA history with the Hawks, Young says that his \u201cwhole vision was to always be [in Atlanta].\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026My whole goal is to win here, win championships, bring people here with me, and build this dynasty here.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a statement that\u2019s sure to endear him to Atlanta\u2019s loyal fan base. The comments also aren\u2019t surprising. Young previously expressed his desire<\/a> to remain with the Hawks during All-Star Weekend.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, this answer was more thought out. More nuanced. It was also more direct; Young\u2019s message to the Hawks\u2019 front office was clear.<\/p>\n

Many of the trade rumors featuring Young are simply other teams\u2014 namely the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> and San Antonio Spurs \u2014having interest in him. However, a couple have painted Atlanta as sellers<\/a>. If the Hawks front office is indeed unsure of whether to keep Young or Dejounte Murray<\/a>, the 25-year-old has let them know exactly where he stands on being traded.<\/p>\n

The Trae Young Show<\/h3>\n

The Atlanta Hawks haven\u2019t been at the center of this much drama in the history of their franchise. It\u2019s almost like a sitcom. The Trae Young Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n

From the day Young was drafted, the soft-spoken 6-foot-1 floor general with the flyaway hair faced immense criticism.<\/p>\n

Yet, it wasn\u2019t because people believed he would be a bust. Selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 5 pick, Atlanta acquired Young in a draft night trade that led to EuroLeague sensation Luka Doncic<\/a> playing near ranch houses instead of high-rises. Their destinies now intertwined, Young has been compared to the slightly more prodigious Doncic throughout his career.<\/p>\n

Young has been spectacular though.<\/p>\n

The Offensive Engine<\/h3>\n

Trae Young averaged 19.1 points per game as a rookie. Then he averaged 29.6 points per game the next season. Averaging 26.6 points per game in the four seasons since, he\u2019s been nothing less than the Atlanta Hawks\u2019 engine, capable of scoring from anywhere on the floor with his ball-handling and shooting ability.<\/p>\n

He also shines as a flashy facilitator. Averaging over 8.0 assists per game every season of his career, there are few players who make a larger impact offensively. His showmanship makes him all the more of a joy to watch.<\/p>\n

The Defensive Sieve<\/h3>\n

Yet, Trae Young\u2019s porous perimeter defense was an eye-sore. The Atlanta Hawks\u2019 weak link defensively, Young was and is routinely targeted by opponents. Truly, he\u2019s played with more effort in the last two seasons. In fact, he\u2019s averaging a career-high 1.4 points per game this season.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, his diminutive size often undermines his newfound desire to be a defensive force.<\/p>\n

The Strange Fit<\/h3>\n

Trae Young\u2019s strengths and weaknesses make him a problematic fit beside Dejounte Murray<\/a>. To that point, though Young is the superior talent. However, the Atlanta Hawks surrendered a lot of assets<\/a> in their trade for Murray. They don\u2019t want to give him up for less than they paid.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Young\u2019s approach has had a way of limiting the impact of his teammates. Because he\u2019s an exceptional shot-creator and playmaker, the Hawks want the ball in his hands as much as possible. Yet, in Murray and De\u2019Andre Hunter<\/a>, Atlanta had a couple of other players who were at their best with the ball in their hands. Though not as potent as Young, they excelled at getting to their spots and knocking shots down.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Coach-Killer\u2019<\/h3>\n

While there are questions about the on-court product, behind the scenes is where problems with Trae Young may truly lie.<\/p>\n

Off the court, Young\u2019s reputation has been tainted by the \u2018coach-killer\u2019 label. Two head coaches\u2014 Lloyd Pierce and Nate McMillan \u2014have been fired since he became the face of the Atlanta Hawks. Both decisions are linked to issues between the coach and Young.<\/p>\n

With his new coach, Young is attempting to dispel the notion that he\u2019s difficult to coach though.<\/p>\n

\n

Teague and Shams talk briefly about the Hawks and Trae on the @club520podcast<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ngdkiAw1rh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Play In SZN (@1CE_TRAE) March 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Making an appearance on former NBA guard Jeff Teague<\/a>\u2019s increasingly popular Club 520 podcast<\/a>, The Athletic insider Shams Charania relays that the relationship between Young and Hawks head coach Quin Snyder \u201chas been really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notably, Snyder reportedly implored the front office<\/a> to keep Dejounte Murray around the trade deadline. In the context of Charania\u2019s report, this could signal the coach\u2019s desire to keep Atlanta\u2019s star duo together. After all, the Hawks have seemed to have difficulty constructing a more talented backcourt than what they have in Murray and Young.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young sat down with Bleacher Report\u2019s Taylor Rooks, discussing myriad topics related to his young but enthralling career. Trae Young: Atlanta \u2018Where I Wanna Be\u2019 During the sit-down with Trae Young, Taylor Rooks broached a sensitive topic, seemingly to Young\u2019s amusement. Asking the 3-time All-Star how he felt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":66213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1608,62,3,4721],"tags":[1262,454,4774,1003,1349],"class_list":["post-66172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hawks","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-dejounte-murray","tag-nate-mcmillan","tag-rumors","tag-quin-snyder","tag-trae-young"],"modified_by":"Zach Kircher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}