Trae Young is looking pretty good

Trae will get lots of shots and has been given the keys to the Atlanta franchise. I would have taken Doncic over him in the draft but if Dallas struggle and give up a nice later top 10 pick to the Hawks then it may look good business by the Hawks.

Atlanta are likely to be lottery again this season so if they end up with two top 10 picks then they can push on with rebuild and have nice draft options.

Trae will have great fantasy value and as he begins to improve his feel for the game he’ll become a more efficient shooter and more effective long term.

 Hawks fan here..Tre looked good in ONE game…I’ve watched all the games (shoutout to free NBA league pass for a week) he rushes a lot of bad shots instead of running  the offense. I think he’s going to be a hell of a player but let’s not grant him the annoited one after one good game. 

ATL native and fan here. I must say I’m surprised and impressed by Young’s performance. Sure the Cavs aren’t great, but they have decent players and were throwing multiple defenders at him. He looked quick off the dribble, had a fast release, was able to get his shot off, and more importantly looked adequate finishing in the lane. His passing was also on display which I have underestimated.

I was not a fan of the trade and have been very vocal about it. I’m not ready to eat my words just yet, as I think Doncic will win ROY and have the Mavs in the 8th spot. BUT, if Young ends up first team all rookie and shows promise and flashes for the future, I think it’s possible ATL might have won this trade depending on what the future picks become. They have to nail those picks.

This is a fantastic rookie class IMO, and for Young to end up first team would be impressive. Ayton, Bagley, Young, Carter, Doncic, JJJ, Knox, and Sexton will all have ample opportunity.

Why is anybody surprised? He’s been a pro in regards to his skill set since he was a junior in high school. I’ve never seen a point guard at his age with his understanding of how to attack and read/react to the defense using ball screens. Go under, he kills you. Go over, he can kill you. He can expose bigs who switch. Hedge, he retreats and attacks. Ice? Still doesn’t matter. Double and he has the passing/vision to hit the open man (still improving here). He can split. He can snake it. If the big lays back, it’s over. If the big steps up, he has the change of speed, etc moves to blow right by him. His ability to be crafty with his finishes is getting better and better. In isolation, he has the moves to create space and get his shot off. 

I mean, he’s really impressive. I see no reason why he can’t be something like Damian Lillard and Steph Curry. Maybe not as special as them, but he has a similar skill set and understanding of how to read/react and attack ball screens. 

 I expect young to be very up and down this season. The hawks will play a style that favors his strengths and they will give him the freedom to let him grow and learn from his mistakes. I think he will have some games like last night where everything is clicking and he puts up big numbers. I think he’ll also have a fair share of games where he shoots a very low percentage and turns the ball over a lot. How he responds to those types of performances is what I’ll be most interested to see. 

I think it will take a while to really figure out who got the better of that trade. I personally would have stuck with doncic, but for the type of team that they are trying to build I could see the reasoning why young might be the better selection. I will say that he has definitely gotten stronger since college, and even summer league. 

Expected him to be good and was really high on him before the draft, happy for him
If Luka turns out good (and he is promising so far) I would be just happy with the trade, 1st round pick hurts but otherwise it is good fit for us.
Mavs weren’t going after Trae anyway and were never going to get him, without the trade I think Hawks was still getting Trae anyway, Memphis taking Luka and Mavs getting either JJJ or Bamba. hawks did themselves and Mavs favour (though JJJ looks good too)
Anyway, think all top 5 picks looked great so far, and even picks 6-12 was also good or promising, no reason for any team to be upset at the moment

He does rush his shots now but as he learns to control the tempo of the game and look at his options and gets better offensive options to work with his game should really improve.

For a young team like the Hawks there will be a temptation to run and gun but hopefully Lloyd Pierce will not let this allow them to make bad decisions and almost play too quick. Whilst a D’Antoni team can run and gun the strings are pulled by elite guys like Harden and CP3. We cannot expect Trae to have the feel for the game that they do and entertaining the crowds should never be put in front of allowing players to find their own natural rhythm to play at.