“I’m Not the $300 Million Player”: Gilbert Arenas Believes Trae Young Being ‘Hated’ Stops Him from Earning More Money

Trae Young was predicted to be the next top point guard in the league when he was drafted in 2018. Cut to six years later, the 6ft 1” player has only three All-Star nominations and a postseason appearance to show in his resume. To make matters worse, Young’s stocks are plummeting every year as the Hawks fail to make a mark in the East.

There has been a narrative about Young being one of the most hated individuals in the league since 2021, an attribute that most people thought would be lucrative for the ATL guard. But Gilbert Arenas thinks that this reputation is actually preventing him from earning millions of dollars.

On Gil’s Arena, Agent Zero deep-dived into why Young hasn’t achieved the level of popularity that many had anticipated for him. The 42-year-old could only find his unpopularity culpable as the 26-year-old has a very crafty game that should make him a very marketable player.

Trae’s unpopularity has arguably affected his All-Star and All-NBA hopes. This, in turn, has prevented him from reaching incentive-based financial goals, according to Arenas.

“If you’re not voting for me for All-Star because you don’t like me personally, or you’re not voting me for All-NBA because you don’t like my money, that means I am not making my supermax. I’m not the $300 million player,” Arenas said.

The former NBA star also offered a straightforward solution for the 26-year-old guard: hiring PR professionals to reshape the narrative and improve his public image.

“There’s just certain people that you don’t like… You just look at them and you’re just ‘I don’t like him.’ He needs a great PR that makes him look different in the world’s eyes. He just needs his own personal PR that can spin better narratives,” Arenas said.

Despite the challenge of being disliked by a majority of fans, Young embraces his role as the “villain.” He has carried this persona since the heated playoff series against the New York Knicks in 2021. And over time, he has learned to excel amid the animosity.

While the disrespectful taunts are “funny”, Young doesn’t enjoy this hatred

The Knicks’ hatred for Trae Young began in 2021. During their first-round series of the playoffs, the crowd at Madison Square Garden made it a hostile environment, particularly for the Hawks guard. There were multiple disrespectful moments when the audience spat, threw popcorn, and even abused him.

One would naturally assume that this rivalry between the fanbase and the player would’ve come to an end following the conclusion of the series. But that hasn’t been the case. Till date, New Yorkers erupt into “f**k Trae Young” chants… whenever they get an opportunity to.

Earlier this year, Young shared that he found these actions amusing. However, just a year prior, he confided to Draymond Green that he didn’t enjoy being in this position.

“S**t ain’t really fun being a villain,” Young said.

Whether he likes it or not, Trae doesn’t have many supporters in New York or around the league at the moment. But he should understand that the villain persona only works well when you’re winning games. Otherwise, it can make you look unlikeable and petulant.