Most of us have seen movies where an injured, dehydrated character is stumbling through the desert on their last bit of energy. Buzzards are circling overhead, just waiting for the moment to pounce on their next meal. A figurative version of that scene is playing out in the NBA, where everyone seems to be waiting for Trae Young’s time with the Atlanta Hawks to come to an end.
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Trae is only 27 years old, but he feels like a dead man walking, at least in Atlanta. It’s kind of a stunning twist for a guy that’s been the face of the franchise since he came over in a draft day trade for Luka Doncic in 2018. Still, the proof is in the pudding.
The Hawks are just 2-8 when he plays this year, and with Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis on the shelf, he hasn’t been able to stop the bleeding as the Hawks plunge down the standings. As it happens, talks about him being traded are gaining serious momentum. Unfortunately for Young, it seems that momentum is getting him head first into a brick wall.
Ryen Russillo spoke about the possibility of a Trae Young trade on yesterday’s episode of The Ryen Russillo Show. He also dropped a bombshell of a quote from an anonymous NBA executive that makes it seem like the Hawks will not have an easy time getting value for him in the trade market.
“It’s hard to think of a team that’s trying to win this season that Trae would help,” Russillo quoted the executive as saying, “especially once you factor in what that team would be losing from the players they would have to send back as matching salary. He doesn’t defend, he doesn’t rebound, guys hate playing with him.”
There’s no denying that the Hawks have played poorly when Trae is in the lineup. However, there’s also a good bit of cognitive dissonance to the idea that guys would hate playing with someone who led the league in assists last year.
The allegations against Trae’s defense are true though. He’s undersized and just not as invested in stopping opposing guards, and that’s a big knock against him.
He’s also not as good a shooter as his reputation suggests. Early in his career people liked to compare him to Steph Curry, but he’s actually always been pretty pedestrian from behind the arc. It’s a small sample size, but this year he’s shooting a career-low 30.5% from outside.
The Hawks have seen what they look like when this is Jalen Johnson’s team, and that’s clearly the direction they should be going. Johnson brings a lot to the table without taking anything off of it, and when surrounded by energetic two-way guys like Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta looks like a real contender with room to grow.
Trae is only 27, but he feels like the former star quarterback who still hangs out with the team after he graduated. There’s a new era underway in Atlanta, and he’s not really part of it.
Does he have skills that could help another team? Of course. He was an All-Star just last year. But the fit is no longer there with the Hawks, so if they can get anything of value for him, it should be worth it.
