When hoops fans and pundits years from now look back on the 2018 draft day trade that brought Trae Young to the Hawks from the Dallas Mavericks, they’ll consider it one of the smartest offseason moves Atlanta has ever made.
Young, the fifth overall selection, bears the moniker “Ice Trae” because when he launches three-pointers, it’s as if he has ice water in his veins.
And it’s Young’s propensity to engage in scoring outbursts that has even one of the best big men in the game right now, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, struggling to come up with ways how to defend him.
According to the Hawks’ website, opponents have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the two-time All-Star in a seemingly desperate effort to stop him, from deploying bigger players to calling switches that involve someone sticking to the 6-foot-1 floor general like glue.
"When you have a player that the opponents feel they have to put two players on that guy, that's the best you can get," head coach Nate McMillan told NBA.com.
With Young close to matching his 29.6 PPG output from his sophomore season in 2020 with 28.1 a contest during the current campaign, it looks like the Hawks’ foes might not have a definite answer for him.
While Young is arguably the team’s lynchpin, as the Hawks issued release said, he gets substantial help from a roster filled with players who complement his strengths. Where Young goes, the Hawks follow, a notion not lost on Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul.
"If you watch him play on a nightly basis, he's a handful,” Paul told NBA.com. “If he's making shots, then he's getting everybody else going and it's going to be a long night.”
Aside from an All-Star Game appearance, Young will also compete in the NBA All-Star 3-point Contest, according to NBC Sports.
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