Trae Young

Hawks May Be Willing To Trade Trae Young

April 10th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

An early exit for the Hawks could lead to an offseason shakeup that might include a trade involving Trae Young, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.

Young has been regarded as Atlanta’s franchise player since he was drafted in 2018, but recent changes to the front office and coaching staff may point the team in a new direction, O’Connor states. Young had a tense relationship with former head coach Nate McMillan before he was replaced in February and may no longer be viewed as indispensable.

Sources tell O’Connor that the Hawks’ front office has received approval from ownership to make any roster changes it believes are necessary this summer. That group includes general manager Landry Fields and assistant general manager Kyle Korver — who have been running the team since former president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk moved into an advisory role in December — along with Quin Snyder, who demanded a say in personnel decisions when he took over as head coach. Many rival teams believe Snyder now has the final say in roster moves, according to O’Connor’s sources.

Snyder has been working to install the motion offense that was successful for him in Utah, but it has been difficult to overhaul the team’s style of play in just a few weeks. He also wants the Hawks to operate at a faster pace than they did under McMillan.

Both those concepts don’t seem to fit well with Young, who has gotten used to monopolizing the ball. O’Connor notes that even after Young pushed for the acquisition of Dejounte Murray as a second ball-handler, he often looks disengaged when he’s not running the offense and rarely cuts to the basket.

Young’s defensive limitations also remain an issue, O’Connor adds, which Snyder understands because he used to target Young on that end of court when he was coaching the Jazz. O’Connor points out that Atlanta has been among the bottom half of the league in defensive rating every season since Young arrived.

Young is in the first season of a five-year, $215MM extension that he agreed to in 2021. He will make $40MM, $43MM and $46MM over the next three years and has an early termination option for his $49MM salary in 2026/27.

While the Hawks will explore their options with Young this summer, O’Connor emphasizes that the odds are always against a major star being traded unless he forces his way out. O’Connor adds that the most likely scenario remains that Atlanta will keep Young and Murray together and try to rebuild the roster around them.

Southeast Notes: Young, Wizards, Heat Arena, Magic

April 4th, 2023 at 5:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trae Young will miss the Hawks’ showdown with the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday due to a non-COVID illness, the team tweets. The Hawks are currently tied with Toronto for eighth place in the East at 39-39 with Chicago right behind at 38-40. Seedings for the play-in tournament are up for grabs and finishing seventh or eighth provides teams with an advantage.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards will retain their 2023 first-round pick by virtue of missing the playoffs, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington notes. The pick this year was lottery protected, stemming from a 2020 trade with the Rockets. The Knicks are now owed the Wizards’ 2024 pick, which is top-12 protected — that protection decreases to top-10 in 2025 and top-eight in 2026. If none of those convey, the Knicks would receive two second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
The Heat’s home arena is now called Kaseya Center, the team announced in a press release. The building was called American Airlines Arena from 1999-2021 and FTX Arena from 2021-23. Kaseya is a global provider of unified IT management and security software for managed services providers and IT professionals.
The Magic have faint playoff hopes — they need to win their remaining four games and hope Chicago goes 0-4 this week. However, Orlando is energized by the fact it has hung around the postseason picture this long, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “Regardless, we’re going to continue playing to win,” guard Jalen Suggs said. “I said it last week before our road trip; I’ll say it again: we’re not playing this game to just go out there. … We’re going out to win, night in and night out.”

Hawks Notes: Young, Snyder, Mathews, Hunter

March 25th, 2023 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks guard Trae Young faces a fine and a possible suspension after being ejected from Saturday’s game for firing the ball at an official (video link), writes Charles Odum of The Associated Press.

Young was apparently upset over a technical he received seconds earlier after being whistled for sticking out his leg to draw contact on a three-point shot. During a time out, Young threw the ball hard at referee Scott Wall, who caught it and then tossed Young out of the game.

“It’s just a play he can’t make,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “I told him that. He knows it.”

The technicals brought Young’s total for the season to 15, which is one short of an automatic suspension. With Atlanta fighting for playoff seeding at 37-37, a one-game absence for its leading scorer could be critical.

Snyder said Young admitted a lapse in judgment, adding, “There wasn’t a single part of him that tried to rationalize what happened.”

There’s more from Atlanta:

Snyder has only been the Hawks’ coach for about a month, but he believes the players are buying into his philosophy, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Snyder’s priority after taking over in late February was to instill an emphasis on defense. “I think we’re just trying to continue to emphasize certain habits defensively, that I think we saw some progress and some of those just everything that we can do to help us protect the paint,” he said, “beginning with getting back on defense and having a wall where they see bodies through a possession, or pick up points, people getting into bodies and being blocked, not getting beat in the middle, or we can help each other getting hits on the boards or protect the paint that way.”
Garrison Mathews, who was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline, asked Snyder what he needs to do to get more playing time, tweets Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com. Mathews has only appeared in five games with Atlanta and is averaging 7.6 minutes per night. Snyder said his status is a result of circumstances, but added, “He’s a tough player. You can always use tough players.”
De’Andre Hunter missed today’s game with a left knee contusion, Williams tweets. His status for Sunday’s contest against Memphis hasn’t been announced.

Celtics Notes: Griffin, Tatum, Smart, Stoudamire

March 13th, 2023 at 7:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics players have been impressed by the way former All-Star Blake Griffin has made the transition to role player. Griffin’s work ethic hasn’t waned, even though he’s no longer the high-flying, high-scoring big man who starred for the Clippers and Pistons, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe writes.

“You just don’t see that with guys that were at his level,” forward Jayson Tatum said. “It’s been really unique to see. I appreciate that a lot. The guys do as well. He never makes it about himself, and it’s contagious. His energy, his enthusiasm, his personality. We’re all very fortunate to have him as a teammate, because everybody respects him and respects what he’s accomplished, and his voice carries.”

Griffin is on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract and will be a free agent again this summer.

We have more on the Celtics:

Tatum may be a candidate for the Most Valuable Player award and All-NBA First Team accolades but he’s only got one goal in mind, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “The only thing that matters to me is winning a championship,” Tatum said. “Not MVP, not first-team All-NBA, none of that. I want to get back to the Finals and get over the hump.”
Marcus Smart has been fined $25K for initiating an on-court altercation and pulling Hawks guard Trae Young to the floor, the NBA PR department tweets. Both players were assessed a technical foul and Smart was ejected during the altercation, which occurred with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 134-125 win over the Hawks on Saturday.
The team has no plans to immediately replace Damon Stoudamire on Joe Muzzalla‘s staff, Himmelsbach tweets. Stoudamire left his assistant coaching job to become Georgia Tech’s head coach.

Hawks Notes: Resslers, Front Office, Snyder, Young, Bogdanovic

March 3rd, 2023 at 6:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Hawks owner Tony Ressler believes his team has underachieved this season, which is why he decided to overhaul the front office and signed off on the new group’s plan to replace head coach Nate McMillan with Quin Snyder, he tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

According to Ressler, he’s staying out of basketball decisions and has given new general manager Landry Fields the autonomy to make those calls. The Hawks’ owner said he removed Travis Schlenk from his role as the team’s head of basketball operations because he wasn’t happy with the front office’s level of “collaboration and communication,” per Wojnarowski.

“I can tell you this: Landry and (assistant GM) Kyle (Korver) are running a much better, much more collaborative front office,” Ressler said. “That’s of huge importance to me because I think that’s how you get better. Having ownership, a front office, a coaching staff and the right roster — when all of those folks work well together, I think results improve. That was the objective and that’s why I made the change that I did.”

There has been some skepticism about the new-look Hawks’ front office due to the relatively inexperienced nature of the head executives, along with the reported empowerment of Tony’s son Nick Ressler. However, the elder Ressler expressed full confidence in the new group.

“What I’ve always done is rely on people who know more than I do to run a business better than I could,” Ressler said to ESPN. “Who makes the decisions (now), it’s undoubtedly Landry with Kyle — with (head coach) Quin (Snyder). (They) are going to work beautifully together from what I can tell. I do believe we will make better decisions going forward than we have done in the past.”

Here’s more on the Hawks:

In a separate interview with Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ressler insisted that his son Nick’s influence in the basketball operations department has been overstated. “Nick works in the organization, helps me in both the business and basketball operations, helps me understand the goings-on of the organization, if you will, helps me evaluate what we’re doing,” Tony said. “But he sits in the same role (I do). He’s in ownership, but is full time to the organization. So the simple answer, is ‘No, he’s not in charge of any (basketball) decision-making.'”
Although the Hawks have made some roster moves this year that seemed aimed at avoiding the luxury tax, Ressler insists those moves weren’t driven by him. “We’re not worried about the luxury tax,” he told Williams. “… Do I think it’s a good idea to be incredibly average (and) in the luxury tax? I’d rather not. I’d rather be contending in the luxury tax or being a great team in the luxury tax. But at the end of the day, I’ve never suggested a trade to get out of the luxury tax ever. Whoever said that will be giving you an untruth, directly, indirectly, intentionally, unintentionally. Never said it. Never will.”
Rival executives lauded the Hawks for the hiring of Snyder, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who spoke to Williams for the latest HoopsHype podcast. There have been suggestions that Snyder may have taken the job in part to have a bigger say in roster changes — when Williams spoke to Snyder she got the impression that while Fields and Korver will “weigh his opinion pretty heavily,” but she doesn’t believe Snyder’s voice will be the “end all and be all.”
Williams also touched on the slow-developing chemistry of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, saying “they’re still learning from each other” and suggesting that the two guards may not have a close relationship. Williams is surprised by that because Young was eager to team up with Murray in the offseason. Williams says Young “is a nice guy,” but has heard “sometimes he has some trouble endearing himself to his teammates off the court,” though she says people like playing with him.
Veteran wing Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to decline his $18MM player option for 2023/24 and enter unrestricted free agency, says Scotto. Williams is a little skeptical Bogdanovic will exceed $18MM per year on his next contract due to his injury history, but Scotto believes he could at least equal, if not exceed, that total on annual basis, noting that the salary cap is expected to go up each year for the foreseeable future. It could be tricky for Atlanta to re-sign Bogdanovic, Scotto adds, citing luxury tax concerns.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Hawks Notes: Young, Snyder, Lineups, Murray

March 2nd, 2023 at 11:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The bond between maximum-salaried Hawks star point guard Trae Young and newly signed head coach Quin Snyder will be imperative to establish for the future of the club, per Jeff Schultz of The Athletic.

“My focus with Trae is on what lies ahead,” Snyder said. “It’s an opportunity for both of us to make each other better, to challenge him and for him to respond and grow. He’s had so much success at a young age, and this is a tough league and you become highly scrutinized with everything you do. The discussions we’ve had is, let’s just get better. I’m not going to be right all the time and that’s the partnership that allows people to grow together. That relationship is important to me and I think it’s important to him.”

Rumored tensions between Young and former head coach Nate McMillan clearly soured that duo’s dynamic, and seem to have played a part in McMillan’s firing late last month.

There’s more out of Atlanta:

Snyder elaborated on his decision to take over the head coaching gig midway through the 2022/23 season, as opposed to waiting to sign on until the summer, per ESPN/The Associated Press. “It’s always a challenge, but those challenges are often most rewarding and the best opportunity,” Snyder said. “As I thought about it, I think the opportunity to come in now, although maybe challenging, is also an opportunity to hopefully go on a run… Also, and I think these things are not mutually exclusive, to begin to build a foundation, a culture.”
Hard choices await Snyder with Atlanta, details John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger opines that he may want to start by juicing up the team’s three-point shooting and moving new addition Saddiq Bey into the starting five for power forward John Collins. Hollinger also has a few other small improvements in mind for freeing up the club’s offense, as well as team-building ideas beyond 2022/23.
For his part, Hawks shooting guard Dejounte Murray appears to be excited to collaborate with Snyder, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “For me, it’s his attention to detail,” Murray said of the element that most stands out in Snyder’s coaching technique. “He’s already been breaking down film, since there’s been a conversation for him to come here, and just listening to everything from defensive personnel to the offense of focusing on getting more mismatches and everything we want to do just to come together and build toward being a great team.”

Hawks Notes: Collins, Young, McMillan, Timing

February 26th, 2023 at 2:37pm CST by Rory Maher

Hawks forward John Collins has cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol, but he’s still being affected by another injury. The 25-year-old is dealing with lower back tightness and was initially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. Brooklyn, according to Hawks reporter Brad Rowland (Twitter links).

However, Collins went through warm-ups unscathed and is available this afternoon, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Through 50 games (31.1 MPG) in 2022/23, Collins is averaging 13.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 1.2 BPG on .506/.248/.813 shooting splits. Trade deadline acquisition Saddiq Bey, who started in Collins’ place during Friday’s victory over Cleveland, was moved back to a reserve role.

Here’s more on the Hawks:

Trae Young spoke to the media for the first time on Friday following former coach Nate McMillan‘s dismissal. While their relationship may not have been perfect, Young says he was surprised by the timing of the move and has “nothing but love and respect” for McMillan, as Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. “I was waking up from a nap and heard about it,” Young said. “And it was surprising to me. I mean, the timing and stuff, right now. But obviously, I know what this league is and Nate knows. We’ve talked since then and had a conversation and stuff like that. So, I got nothing but love and respect for Nate and the type of person he is, and things like that. So it’s not the last time me and him are going to talk. I mean I talk to all my coaches that I’ve played for. So, that’s what I was expressing to him, and I appreciated him for, I mean, being a part of that run that took us in this franchise further than it’s been. So, he should get a lot of love for that alone (and) for what he’s done for us and his team and this organization. So I got nothing but love for him, and it’s a tough situation. But, it’s part of this league, and I got nothing but love for him.”
There had been rumblings about the Hawks moving on from McMillan in the offseason and a report that he had considered resigning himself, so the news wasn’t totally unexpected. Still, as Young alluded to, the timing of the firing seemed to catch many within the organization off guard, ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently said on his Lowe Post podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “I think a lot of people within that team, players, coaches, staff were blindsided by 23 games to go at the end of the All-Star break,” Lowe said. “‘… We’re pulling the trigger now on this?’“
In case you missed it, the Hawks have reportedly offered their head coaching job to former Jazz coach Quin Snyder, and the two sides are said to be nearing a deal.

Hawks Notes: Accountability, Collins, Coaching Change, Young

February 23rd, 2023 at 8:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward John Collins showed appreciation for Nate McMillan, who was recently dismissed as head coach, but said his coaching may have been better served on a veteran team rather than a relatively young one like the Hawks, according to Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required).

“I feel like everybody isn’t going to be on board with all of anyone’s decisions, but I’m saying more so in terms of what Nate was asking from us as a group and where we are mentally, professionally, in years and experience,” Collins said. “It just kind of creates a divide of the expectation versus where we are, what we have developed to as young players. So I feel like he’s a little bit more suited for just guys who are older, understand the game. Whereas the young team, we need guidance. And I feel like we need a different kind of guidance. Hopefully, our new coach can come in and bring us that spark.”

He believes player development should be a point of emphasis for the new coach. However, Collins also said the players need to do a much better job at holding each other accountable.

“I feel like we’re all young. We want to develop into the best players we can be,” Collins said. “So, you know, what we do before and after games and just being held accountable to a certain standard. We just need to grow up mentally. I feel like we’re talented, we’re extremely talented in a lot of aspects with the basketball and what we do on the court. But in terms of leadership, togetherness, the brotherhood, the culture we have here, that’s where we need to grow and hold each other accountable. Just making sure we’re mentally locked in in the right areas to succeed on the court.”

Collins then expanded on how the players can become better leaders, per Burns.

“Being held accountable in all aspects, whether it’s from the organization to the players to the training staff, weight room,” Collins said. “I feel like that’s where you start is holding people accountable to not only their job, but their expectations as men on this team. It’s the NBA. We’re not in college anymore. We’re not in high school. We were expected to come in here and be men and try to win basketball games.

“So I try to do what I can, but it takes a village. It’s not one guy. Everybody has to hold everybody accountable, as well as me being able to be held accountable by my teammates and by my staff. So it’s delicate. It’s not just something that, you know, is magic, but that’s where it starts.”

Here’s more on the Hawks:

Collins remains in the NBA’s concussion protocol and will be out Friday versus Cleveland, tweets Hawks reporter Brad Rowland. Collins was involved in a collision last Wednesday against New York and was later diagnosed with a concussion.
All eyes will be on Trae Young over the coming weeks, months and into next season, according to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, who notes that Young has now had well-known differences with two coaches who were subsequently let go in fewer than five seasons. Schultz asked Hawks GM Landry Fields about the topic. “Whenever you see that in the past, those are definitely areas you want to maintain a focus on,” Fields said. “But for us, it’s not a huge concern and to place any emphasis on Trae in these matters is totally unfair to him, in my opinion.” Schultz believes Young needs to make drastic improvements as a leader, and suggests Collins’ comments about accountability could be pointed at Young, though Collins declined to provide names.
Young had an excused absence for the past two days, which is why wasn’t around for media availability, per Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Young later sent out a tweet saying that he was dealing with a family medical issue.
In case you missed it, the Hawks are reportedly targeting Quin Synder to replace McMillan. The details are here.

Hawks’ Fields Discusses McMillan’s Dismissal, Coaching Search

February 22nd, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Addressing reporters in a press conference a day after dismissing head coach Nate McMillan, Hawks general manager Landry Fields framed the decision as a difficult but necessary one, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

According to Fields, the possibility of a coaching change had been on his radar for “the last month or so,” and he finalized the decision to make the move over the All-Star break after the Hawks closed the first half with losses to Charlotte and New York.

Asked about reports that McMillan considered resigning earlier in the season, Fields said that the Hawks’ coach never expressed that desire to him.

Fields also stated that Atlanta has already begun speaking to potential candidates to replace McMillan on a permanent basis, confirming that Quin Snyder is among the options the team will consider (Snyder was identified by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski as a leading candidate). The Hawks’ general manager declined to confirm any other names on Atlanta’s list of possible targets, explaining that he didn’t want to discuss anyone who’s under contract with another club.

Here are a few more highlights from Fields’ Wednesday presser, as relayed by Williams:

On whether Trae Young or any other Hawks players had input in the decision to dismiss McMillan:

“They did not have any role in this decision. I would not ever go to players on something like this. This was solely my decision at the end of the day. As far as a new candidate, to me our objectives and our values are clear. And the players fall in line with those, as well. So (I) don’t necessarily need their feedback on who that will be.”

On whether McMillan’s relationship with Young was part of the reason for his ouster:

“No, I think that at the end of the day, it came down to how all players were responding to his voice, and I just didn’t see it. I didn’t see the trajectory going anywhere that was going to be beneficial for us.”

On what qualities the Hawks are looking for in their next permanent head coach:

“Well, it always starts with a shared vision. And I always simplify that as being a championship-caliber franchise. And that’s not just with our goals, that’s our day-in-and-day-out approach.

“Character is something that is going to be high on our list, and I think it’s a big broad word but for us, having a great degree of emotional intelligence being able to connect not just with staff members, but also with players, is gonna be high on the list. Somebody that is able and willing to hold the line, accountability is huge for us. And then at the end of the day has a strong emphasis on development. That is something that we will be making sure is part of our priorities here with Atlanta. So, those would be some to start.”

On his expectations for the Hawks going forward:

“I believe we can get a lot better. I think that this is a very talented roster. And looking at our record, like it’s not acceptable with what I believe this roster can be. So that’s why we’re trying to make a change and level up.”

Injury Updates: Anunoby, Simmons, Warren, James, Doncic, Young, Butler

January 30th, 2023 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

OG Anunoby is one of the bigger names churning through the trade rumor mill, so the latest injury news regarding the Raptors forward could complicate those discussions.

The team has ruled out Anunoby for the remainder of its road trip, a seven-game journey which concludes with stops in Utah, Houston and Memphis this week, Michael Grange of Sportnet.ca tweets. He sprained his left wrist against Golden State on Friday.

We have more notable injury updates:

The Nets’ Ben Simmons (left knee soreness) and T.J. Warren (left shin contusion) sat out Monday’s win over the Lakers, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Coach Jacque Vaughn is hopeful both will be “ready to go” for Wednesday’s matchup against Boston, Adam Zagoria tweets.
LeBron James sat out that game with what Lakers coach Darvin Ham describes as “some really significant soreness” in his left foot, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets. The Lakers play against the Knicks on Tuesday.
Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic returned to action after a one-game absence due to an ankle sprain and continued his scoring rampage. He notched 53 points against Detroit, his league-best fourth 50-point game this season, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press notes (Twitter link).
Hawks guard Trae Young sat out Monday’s game against Portland due to right ankle soreness, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. He had 31 points in 36 minutes against the Clippers on Saturday.
Heat forward Jimmy Butler (right quad contusion) is listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game against Cleveland, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Butler scored 28 points against Charlotte on Sunday.

Load More Posts