Frustrated with redundant 1A narrative, Trae Young's dad issues sincere stamp of approval to son's latest remark
Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are officially out of the playoffs this season. After the loss to the Chicago Bulls in the Play-In Tournament, it was Young who had to bear the brunt of the loss. After the Hawks’ star said that he didn’t give too much primacy about being the No. 1 choice on the team, his father Ray Young sided with his son.
The loss against the Bulls has highlighted the Hawks' weakness and there is a high chance that the team might address that this offseason. The team might also try to sign other star players going into the next season. After the loss to the Bulls, Brad Rowland asked Trae Young if he had any message for the potential incoming players for the Hawks next season.
“People may think that I have to feel like I'm the best player on the team or the first option, I'm not that way. I've never been that way. I'm just a guy that's trying to get everybody involved and win the game. I know when we win, everybody eats,” Young said.
The Hawks’ guard’s father Ray Young sided with his son’s remark and said that his son has always played team basketball and he didn’t have to be No. 1 to win a championship.
“For the love of basketball thank you for posting this. It’s always been this way with Trae. Was just blessed enough to get drafted top 5 & handed the keys to a franchise. Maybe that’s why the narrative was created “he has” to be 1A to win a ring in Atlanta,” Ray Young wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Trae Young is not the conventional superstar for an NBA team. He is not alpha athletically built and doesn’t have a dominating size on the court. His game might be similar to Steph Curry's, but he doesn’t have that Golden State Warriors’ Hall of Fame caliber teammate around him.
If the Hawks want to capitalize on Young’s talent, they might have to surround him with better players around him.
NBA Insider predicts big change for Atlanta Hawks involving Trae Young
The last time the Atlanta Hawks made noise in the NBA was in the 2020-21 season, when they defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the first and second rounds of playoffs. They eventually lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the ECF.
Since then, the Hawks with Trae Young haven’t moved beyond the first round. The hopes ran high with the acquisition of Dejounte Murray this season, however, they failed to even make the playoff with Murray on the roster.
Trae Young is playing under a five-year $215 million max contract, while Murray is playing under a four-year / $114 million contract. NBA Insider, Shams Charania believes that with two significant contracts on their roster, the Hawks might be looking to entertain some changes before the next season.
"Anytime that you have the talent that they have, one guy on a max contract, one guy on a significant $100 million dollar contract and you fall short of expectations…I think when you look at Trae Young's future when you look at Dejounte Murray's future, clearly something is going to have to give in Atlanta,” Charania said on Fanduel TV's Run It Back.
So far, what Young and Murray have been able to achieve together has been subpar with the expectations that the Hawks had at the beginning of the season. There is a high chance that the team might want to use a big sum to bring in some good players around Young or Murray or rebuild the team altogether.
The Hawks almost traded Murray when they were in serious talks with a team like the LA Lakers before the trade deadline. Given their past move, there is a high chance that it would be Murray they might move this offseason.