I was wrong about Trae Young

[Sothron]

I did make a thread before the season started on the Squawk that I was supporting him and hoping he proved to be a great player. And despite what some of you may think I have felt that way the whole season and will continue to do so. One of my work friends is dating an Oklahoma assistant coach and through her I learned a great deal about him. I came to really like the kid despite my earlier misgivings and started rooting for him before the season started.

That being said, I was still scared crapless that my prediction before that he would flame out of the NBA would come true. He is a truly terrible defender (and he still is) and he was taking far too many crazy shots at the start of the season. But his passing is and has been very good. I did not see his willingness to attack the rim as I feared more physical contact from larger players in the NBA would make him too scared to embrace the contact.

So for that...I was wrong. The kid is legit. He is not as good as Doncic but he's a very good prospect on his own. I already have a Trae jersey and jersey t shirt. I hope the post All Star Trae we see is what we get going forward with one big change: his defense. He absolutely has to defend better.

Let's hope we get to enjoy that growth here in the ATL and that he and Collins can bring in some free agents to go with all these draft picks and turn this team into a champion.

[peoriabird]

So for that...I was wrong. The kid is legit. He is not as good as Doncic but he's a very good prospect on his own.

So you made an entire thread stating how poor you are at evaluating prospects but yet you still want to push your opinion on Doncic vs Young. Ironic!

[King Ken]

So for that...I was wrong. The kid is legit. He is not as good as Doncic but he's a very good prospect on his own.

So you made an entire thread stating how poor you are at evaluating prospects but yet you still want to push your opinion on Doncic vs Young. Ironic!

Dapped and undapped his post

[Hazer]

He is not as good as Doncic...

He’s better.

[Sothron]

So for that...I was wrong. The kid is legit. He is not as good as Doncic but he's a very good prospect on his own.

So you made an entire thread stating how poor you are at evaluating prospects but yet you still want to push your opinion on Doncic vs Young. Ironic!

I've gotten far more right than wrong. I also like how you ignore the rest of the post. Doncic is better than Young. That doesn't mean Young is bad. He's very good.

[peoriabird]

So for that...I was wrong. The kid is legit. He is not as good as Doncic but he's a very good prospect on his own.

So you made an entire thread stating how poor you are at evaluating prospects but yet you still want to push your opinion on Doncic vs Young. Ironic!

I've gotten far more right than wrong. I also like how you ignore the rest of the post. Doncic is better than Young. That doesn't mean Young is bad. He's very good.

No one is interested in your assessment of Young after the Acie Law comparison so you're wasting your time giving your input on him and his potential.

[observer1995]

I think I was as down the middle as you can get on him. I had a couple questions but didn’t say “yeah, he has no chance at being a player in the NBA” (and one question is still there), I was ready to hold out for the year 2 and see then, and honestly since about mid-December if you do the numbers in basketball-reference, its similar percentages to what I thought we’d see in year 2. Think as you add more better players, he’s a 20/10 type with about normal efficiency for a starting PG, and the make or break is what he can get to on defense.

One thing that’s obvious is I think we’ll look back and the 2018 draft will turn out to have been the best one in several years.

[Spud2nique]

Soth comon man. You can’t complement him then say Doncic is better. That’s simply not true. If I’m building a basketball team I’m taking Trae because he’s playing with 4 other guys at the same time out on the floor and he’s a general. I think Trae exceeds Luka in leadership and heart as well.

Ps Rookie of the year ain’t over! Trae coming hard!

[Night Traen]

Ps Rookie of the year ain’t over! Trae coming hard!

And in case Sothrolf doesn't realize, winning ROY doesn't mean Luca is the better player over the 20 years both of them are going to play.

[Sothron]

Soth comon man. You can’t complement him then say Doncic is better. That’s simply not true. If I’m building a basketball team I’m taking Trae because he’s playing with 4 other guys at the same time out on the floor and he’s a general. I think Trae exceeds Luka in leadership and heart as well.

Ps Rookie of the year ain’t over! Trae coming hard!

The blind homerism is in full force in this thread. Kinda pathetic to be frank. Doncic is 1.5 years YOUNGER than Trae and has already won championships as the best player on his team. If you don't see the difference between superstar talent and All-star talent then I don't know what else to say. Young is the worst defensive player I have ever seen in the NBA and he was the worst defensive player I have ever seen in college. You can't talk about heart and leadership when effort only comes on one side of the ball.

Young is still very young and has the chance to become a much better defender. You guys always trying to bad mouth Doncic because you know we traded the wrong guy is disgraceful and just an insult to basketball fandom. I get you guys want to homer ball him to the moon but let's don't talk silly. I made this thread because I thought Young would be out of the league after his rookie contract back but was still rooting for him anyways. I am pleaseantly surprised that he has exceeded my expecations. When I talked about Doncic in the pre draft and during the days after the draft my expectation was that he would be a generational superstar. He's proven me exactly correct.

I am just glad Young proved me wrong. If you guys want to nitpick what I say to try and only focus on the negatives instead of the positives than that's on you. I have as little interest as blind hate or blind homerism agendas as I did back on the Squawk.

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

I'll give Trae this much. Fails on D, but it's not for lack of interest.

Our previous PG failed on D, and lacked interest.

And old Mike Bibby, though, was the worst defensive PG I believe I've ever seen in a Hawks uni, just for the record. Trae's better in terms of effort, but not much in terms of results.

We're going to get a lot of highlights and a lot of lost games if this team can't turn things around defensively, and good defense starts with a PG who has some affect on the other team's floor general. So, Trae's progress is crucial. I'm bullish on him mainly because he's a rookie, and because I expect his frame will fill out some more in the coming year or two... not a lot, but some more.

Offensively, he could possibly become the best PG in the league in 3-4 years. But again, that on its own won't translate to winning games.

[Spud2nique]

Soth comon man. You can’t complement him then say Doncic is better. That’s simply not true. If I’m building a basketball team I’m taking Trae because he’s playing with 4 other guys at the same time out on the floor and he’s a general. I think Trae exceeds Luka in leadership and heart as well.

Ps Rookie of the year ain’t over! Trae coming hard!

The blind homerism is in full force in this thread. Kinda pathetic to be frank. Doncic is 1.5 years YOUNGER than Trae and has already won championships as the best player on his team. If you don't see the difference between superstar talent and All-star talent then I don't know what else to say. Young is the worst defensive player I have ever seen in the NBA and he was the worst defensive player I have ever seen in college. You can't talk about heart and leadership when effort only comes on one side of the ball.

Young is still very young and has the chance to become a much better defender. You guys always trying to bad mouth Doncic because you know we traded the wrong guy is disgraceful and just an insult to basketball fandom. I get you guys want to homer ball him to the moon but let's don't talk silly. I made this thread because I thought Young would be out of the league after his rookie contract back but was still rooting for him anyways. I am pleaseantly surprised that he has exceeded my expecations. When I talked about Doncic in the pre draft and during the days after the draft my expectation was that he would be a generational superstar. He's proven me exactly correct.

I am just glad Young proved me wrong. If you guys want to nitpick what I say to try and only focus on the negatives instead of the positives than that's on you. I have as little interest as blind hate or blind homerism agendas as I did back on the Squawk.

I’m not saying anything about you. If you like Doncic more than Young then you build a team differently than I do and would that’s all I’m saying. You love your KAT, Jokic, Doncic and the Hawks and that’s fine. Perhaps I have my Hawk glasses on but if we did the 2018 draft trade with the Mavs all over again I’d do the same thing. Hawks are coming..that’s all I care about and our future looks crazy bright.

[Spud2nique]

I'll give Trae this much. Fails on D, but it's not for lack of interest.

Our previous PG failed on D, and lacked interest.

And old Mike Bibby, though, was the worst defensive PG I believe I've ever seen in a Hawks uni, just for the record. Trae's better in terms of effort, but not much in terms of results.

We're going to get a lot of highlights and a lot of lost games if this team can't turn things around defensively, and good defense starts with a PG who has some affect on the other team's floor general. So, Trae's progress is crucial. I'm bullish on him mainly because he's a rookie, and because I expect his frame will fill out some more in the coming year or two... not a lot, but some more.

Offensively, he could possibly become the best PG in the league in 3-4 years. But again, that on its own won't translate to winning games.

It does directly relate to wins as top flight free agents want to play with a guy like Trae. That’s gonna translate to wins more than likely.

[LunchBox21]

We're gonna have to surround Trae with a lot of good defenders. Blueprints to success: 2016 Celtics (the team where IT went ballistic on offense) and current Warriors. Steph has improved a ton on defense over the years, but he has also had the luxury of being surrounded by DPOY level defenders throughout his prime.

I was wrong about Trae too OP. I was all in during the first half, but in conference play he looked like the Trae that we saw in Summer League/November and I declared that I'd rather someone else see if he succeeds. As for the trade, well I was happy that they at least traded Luka for a primary ballhandler which every top team is going to need.

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

It does directly relate to wins as top flight free agents want to play with a guy like Trae. That’s gonna translate to wins more than likely.

Salary cap will tend to interfere with those plans if they're all that "top flight."

I stand by what I said... good defense starts with a PG who has some affect on the other team's floor general. So, Trae's progress is crucial.

[marco102]

Soth comon man. You can’t complement him then say Doncic is better. That’s simply not true. If I’m building a basketball team I’m taking Trae because he’s playing with 4 other guys at the same time out on the floor and he’s a general. I think Trae exceeds Luka in leadership and heart as well.

Ps Rookie of the year ain’t over! Trae coming hard!

The blind homerism is in full force in this thread. Kinda pathetic to be frank. Doncic is 1.5 years YOUNGER than Trae and has already won championships as the best player on his team. If you don't see the difference between superstar talent and All-star talent then I don't know what else to say. Young is the worst defensive player I have ever seen in the NBA and he was the worst defensive player I have ever seen in college. You can't talk about heart and leadership when effort only comes on one side of the ball.

Young is still very young and has the chance to become a much better defender. You guys always trying to bad mouth Doncic because you know we traded the wrong guy is disgraceful and just an insult to basketball fandom. I get you guys want to homer ball him to the moon but let's don't talk silly. I made this thread because I thought Young would be out of the league after his rookie contract back but was still rooting for him anyways. I am pleaseantly surprised that he has exceeded my expecations. When I talked about Doncic in the pre draft and during the days after the draft my expectation was that he would be a generational superstar. He's proven me exactly correct.

I am just glad Young proved me wrong. If you guys want to nitpick what I say to try and only focus on the negatives instead of the positives than that's on you. I have as little interest as blind hate or blind homerism agendas as I did back on the Squawk.

I'm not here to argue with you. You shouldn't belittle anyone for thinking Trae is better than Luka and I won't belittle you for thinking the opposite. What I will do is stop you from spreading misinformation. Trae is 6 months older than Luka. They are both 20 year olds.

[Spud2nique]

Soth comon man. You can’t complement him then say Doncic is better. That’s simply not true. If I’m building a basketball team I’m taking Trae because he’s playing with 4 other guys at the same time out on the floor and he’s a general. I think Trae exceeds Luka in leadership and heart as well.

Ps Rookie of the year ain’t over! Trae coming hard!

The blind homerism is in full force in this thread. Kinda pathetic to be frank. Doncic is 1.5 years YOUNGER than Trae and has already won championships as the best player on his team. If you don't see the difference between superstar talent and All-star talent then I don't know what else to say. Young is the worst defensive player I have ever seen in the NBA and he was the worst defensive player I have ever seen in college. You can't talk about heart and leadership when effort only comes on one side of the ball.

Young is still very young and has the chance to become a much better defender. You guys always trying to bad mouth Doncic because you know we traded the wrong guy is disgraceful and just an insult to basketball fandom. I get you guys want to homer ball him to the moon but let's don't talk silly. I made this thread because I thought Young would be out of the league after his rookie contract back but was still rooting for him anyways. I am pleaseantly surprised that he has exceeded my expecations. When I talked about Doncic in the pre draft and during the days after the draft my expectation was that he would be a generational superstar. He's proven me exactly correct.

I am just glad Young proved me wrong. If you guys want to nitpick what I say to try and only focus on the negatives instead of the positives than that's on you. I have as little interest as blind hate or blind homerism agendas as I did back on the Squawk.

I'm not here to argue with you. You shouldn't belittle anyone for thinking Trae is better than Luka and I won't belittle you for thinking the opposite. What I will do is stop you from spreading misinformation. Trae is 6 months older than Luka. They are both 20 year olds.

Oh $hit Soth, you tried to pull a fast one huh? Why would you...

[peoriabird]

Oh $hit Soth, you tried to pull a fast one huh? Why would you...

Agenda!

[Sothron]

Soth comon man. You can’t complement him then say Doncic is better. That’s simply not true. If I’m building a basketball team I’m taking Trae because he’s playing with 4 other guys at the same time out on the floor and he’s a general. I think Trae exceeds Luka in leadership and heart as well.

Ps Rookie of the year ain’t over! Trae coming hard!

The blind homerism is in full force in this thread. Kinda pathetic to be frank. Doncic is 1.5 years YOUNGER than Trae and has already won championships as the best player on his team. If you don't see the difference between superstar talent and All-star talent then I don't know what else to say. Young is the worst defensive player I have ever seen in the NBA and he was the worst defensive player I have ever seen in college. You can't talk about heart and leadership when effort only comes on one side of the ball.

Young is still very young and has the chance to become a much better defender. You guys always trying to bad mouth Doncic because you know we traded the wrong guy is disgraceful and just an insult to basketball fandom. I get you guys want to homer ball him to the moon but let's don't talk silly. I made this thread because I thought Young would be out of the league after his rookie contract back but was still rooting for him anyways. I am pleaseantly surprised that he has exceeded my expecations. When I talked about Doncic in the pre draft and during the days after the draft my expectation was that he would be a generational superstar. He's proven me exactly correct.

I am just glad Young proved me wrong. If you guys want to nitpick what I say to try and only focus on the negatives instead of the positives than that's on you. I have as little interest as blind hate or blind homerism agendas as I did back on the Squawk.

I'm not here to argue with you. You shouldn't belittle anyone for thinking Trae is better than Luka and I won't belittle you for thinking the opposite. What I will do is stop you from spreading misinformation. Trae is 6 months older than Luka. They are both 20 year olds.

My mistake. They said during the draft and recap more than a few times that Doncic was 1.5 years younger than Trae Young and that's what stuck in my memory.

That doesn't change anything from what I said though. Doncic is still younger and is already a superstar. Maybe Trae can reach that level in the next few years but Doncic is already a generational superstar. I'm far from the only person that sees this.

[EazyRoc]

It does directly relate to wins as top flight free agents want to play with a guy like Trae. That’s gonna translate to wins more than likely.

Salary cap will tend to interfere with those plans if they're all that "top flight."

I stand by what I said... good defense starts with a PG who has some affect on the other team's floor general. So, Trae's progress is crucial.

That isn’t true statistically speaking.