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Hawks acquire Trae Young in NBA draft trade

Hawks general manger Travis Schlenk made the most consequential transaction of his tenure Thursday night when he acquired Oklahoma point guard Trae Young in the NBA draft.

“I’m super excited,” Young said via conference call from New York. “This has always been a dream . . . to play in the NBA. To have an opportunity to play with such a great organization and be around a lot of great people with the Atlanta Hawks, it’s great for me.”


“We love his ability to pass the ball, to make other players better with his court vision,” Schlenk said. “Obviously he gets a lot of notoriety for his long-range shooting but I think his ability to pass the ball is what we really liked about him. We were able to slide back a couple spots and still get him and pick up a future draft asset as well.”

“In today’s NBA obviously the 3-point shot is important,” Schlenk said. “What really separates him with his shooting is his ability to shoot off the dribble. You don’t see that in a lot of guys.”

To be a good NBA player Young likely will have to overcome some weaknesses, including his size. Young regressed later in Oklahoma’s season, raising questions about how he will hold up physically in the NBA.

“Being a smaller guard, you’ve got to be able to stand out in different areas,” Young said then. “Be really able to shoot the ball, be really able to pass the ball, be really scrappy and be a tougher player. I think I get criticized a lot about not being as tough, but I’m an extremely tough-minded player.”

“I think a lot of it will be predicated on adding strength: lower body, core, upper body,” Hawks assistant general manager Jeff Peterson said prior to the draft. “He will get beat up going inside a little bit, so he’s going to have to figure out how to take the hit and still get a shot off and make a shot. That’s what these NBA guys do. But his touch is pretty good with both hands, so I think he will be able to adapt in that area.”

dms269 wrote:Someone tweet him and invite him to the realgm.

Jamaaliver wrote:

dms269 wrote:Someone tweet him and invite him to the realgm.

Let's give atlbbq a day or so to calm down first....lol

Jamaaliver wrote:

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Pro Player Comparisons for Top 30 Prospects in the 2018 NBA Draft

Trae Young: Damon Stoudamire



Damon Stoudamire got the nickname "Mighty Mouse" for a reason. He was an undersized (5'10"), bursty guy who made nifty shots and shot the three well.

Trae Young set the world on fire, particularly at the start of the season, with a similar type of game. While he's a bit taller (6'2"), he's only 178 pounds. He averaged 30.0 points and 10.0 assists over the first 16 games, shooting 40.7 percent from deep and 51.7 percent from two.

His ability to create shots from the perimeter and pull up and drain them is Steph Curry-esque. He also has shades of Steve Nash with his creative passing game.

Hence, Mighty Mouse seems a better comparison because he shares more of a pass-first tendency with Young.

Scouting Report for Atlanta Hawks' Pick

Offensive strengths

With tight handles, mean hesitations, roaming vision and passing instincts, Young averaged 8.7 assists despite weak support at Oklahoma. His most valued attribute is shot-creating for teammates. Shifty off the dribble, Young can be tough to stay in front of. He picked defenses apart and buried them in pick-and-rolls when he wound up single-covered, generating 1.082 points per possession in those situations. Young also scored 160 points out of isolation, averaging 1.019 PPP, ranking in the 85 percentile. He got to the free-throw line 8.7 times per game, but he made the most noise around the perimeter, where he sunk 118 threes. He ranked in the 88th percentile in dribble jumpers and the 96th percentile on catch-and-shoot jumpers.





Defensive outlook

Young's defensive outlook isn't promising, mostly because of his physical tools. He's easy to screen or bully. He also exerts so much energy on offense that he runs out of gas when trying to contain his man defensively. His effort has been questioned when fighting through picks. Young has enough quickness to be adequate, but that's his defensive ceiling.

Scouting report

Strengths: Young’s shooting ability is well-known. Given his extraordinarily high usage, Young’s 36 percent 3-point percentage isn’t nearly indicative of the caliber of shooter he is; Young might be the best pure shooter in the draft, and is unquestionably the best shooter off-the-dribble. He lit up team after team at Oklahoma, becoming a national sensation in the process. What could be lost on the casual fan is Young’s sensational passing ability. On a team largely devoid of talent outside of him, Young led the nation with 8.7 assists per game. He’s the only player in NCAA history to ever lead the nation in both points and assists. Coupling that unselfishness with range that extends out to the mid-court logo, Young has the makings of an offensive juggernaut in the NBA for years to come.

How he fits with the Hawks

Young’s arrival likely signals the beginning of the end of the Dennis Schroeder era in Atlanta, one way or another. In Young, Schlenk sees a Curry-esque talent to help shepherd the Hawks’ rebuild. Young could be the team’s go-to scorer from day one in Atlanta, and could even figure into Rookie of the Year discussion by year’s end if he sustains his shooting pace from college. There will be growing pains, as there were in Oklahoma, but in Young the Hawks see their prolific point guard of the future.

jayu70 wrote:I think I've finally recovered after my initial dissapointment last night.

Welcome to Atlanta Trae!!

Jamaaliver wrote:One other positive from passing on Doncic that I've heard: we'll likely be so bad again next season that we'll be in line for another top-3 selection and elite prospect to add.

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dms269 wrote:

Jamaaliver wrote:One other positive from passing on Doncic that I've heard: we'll likely be so bad again next season that we'll be in line for another top-3 selection and elite prospect to add.

According to 92.9, we will be around .500.