The Atlanta Hawks may be in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 13 wins and 10 losses at the current time, but tensions are now rising between star post guard Trae Young and head coach Nate McMillan. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic on Sunday, Young and McMillan had a heated exchange during Friday’s shootaround, which led to Young’s decision not to show up for the Hawks in their 117-109 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Young, who has been dealing with a shoulder issue, did not want to attend Friday’s shootaround, and wanted to decide right before the game whether or not he would play. McMillan reportedly gave Young the choice to come off the bench against the Nuggets (and thus not be used in a starting role for the first time in his career) or not play at all.
McMillan is not the first coach in Atlanta that Young has not got along with. According to Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Young and former Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce, who was fired on May 18, were in disagreements as well.
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On Friday, the Hawks did just fine without Young. Seven Hawks players reached double digits in scoring. First-year Hawk Dejounte Murray had 34 points, AJ Griffin had 24 points, Clint Capela had 12 points, while Jalen Johnson, Aaron Holiday, Onyeka Okongwu, and Jarrett Culver had 10 points each.
In 21 games this season, Young is averaging 27.8 points per game, 9.6 assists per game, and 2.9 rebounds per game. He also has a field goal percentage of .411, three-point percentage of .303, and a free throw percentage of .899.
In your opinion how valuable is Young to the Hawks? Is the supporting cast capable of making Atlanta competitive? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
