Atlanta Hawks star guard, Trae Young, recently shared some insight on the team’s summer. He appeared on Paul George’s podcast to discuss the offseason. Some of his remarks were certainly interesting to say the least. Young delved into the Hawks’ decision to trade Dejounte Murray and also talked about the NBA Draft. On top of that, some peers were also surprised to see Young not make the Team USA roster that took gold in the Paris Olympics this summer. All in all, Trae Young’s remarks will definitely raise some eyebrows.
Trae Young Talks About the NBA Draft Class and Dejounte Murray’s Departure on Paul George’s Podcast
Trae Young and Dejounte Murray: Another Star Duo That Didn’t Pan Out
On paper, the duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray should have been a match made in heaven. However, in today’s league, looking good on paper does not always translate to team success. Simple as that. There is no rhyme or reason. Such was the case with the Hawks when they had Murray and Young.
“To be honest, there was good and bad. The only bad part was that we didn’t get to win as much as we wanted to. The good part was that we have a lifelong relationship. Our relationship goes outside of basketball. We are both family men, we both have similar people around us. The way we get along off the court is awesome.
On the court, it was tough because we both wanted to win. We’re not the first duo to not work, and we won’t be the last. […] I think it’s tough because we’re both very unselfish. I would pass him the ball, and he wants to be aggressive. He’s a point guard too, so he’s not always thinking to score first. When I’m on the court, he’s more of a shooting guard, so it just didn’t work. [..] In San Antonio, he was more of a defender, rebounder, get guys involved, but it just had a different feel here.”
The Hawks finished with a win-loss record of 36-46.
A Look at This Year’s NBA Draft Class
Trae Young also shared some of his insight on this year’s NBA Draft. His comments could be interpreted as pure honesty but could also ruffle some feathers of a few peers.
“No disrespect to the guys that got drafted, from the [outside] looking in, a lot of us look at [the players in the 2024 NBA Draft] as role players coming in anyway. The last three no. 1 picks, you got Victor [Wembanyama], you got like Ant Edwards, you got some big-time names. None of these guys – whether it’s [Reed Sheppard] — who’s going to be a hell of an NBA player — or [Alex Sarr] — who didn’t play well in summer league but who’s going to be a hell of NBA player – but a lot of these guys could be just role players.
I think a lot of the [general managers] this year were trying to figure out who is going to be the best player for their team. I don’t think [Sarr] is going to be their franchise player for them going forward. He’s going to be a great player and have a long NBA career, but the outlook on any of these guys coming was not like they were going to be Luka [Doncic] or Zion [Williamson]-type guys.”
Young’s sentiment is one that is shared among many analysts and draft experts.
