Atlanta Hawks Trae Young Set For Tough Season in the Spotlight

The Atlanta Hawks drafted an intriguing player in Trae Young. A player already gaining the team national attention before the NBA season has even begun.

The Atlanta Hawks had very little positive happen over the last year. A season full of losing has been followed by the Hawks parting ways with their best player in 2017 trading Dennis Schroder for a draft pick and taking on Carmelo’s contract.

One exception to this was the fact the Hawks drafted a spotlight player in Trae Young. Young was drafted 5th overall and yet has received as much or more attention than any draft pick before him.

Why? The answer is very simple, Young is a perfect example of today’s NBA game. He can pull up and take a shot from just over half-court or drive the ball and kick it to the three-point line. He may not be an elite defender but he is an interesting shooter who has an elite passing ability.

Already he is receiving national attention from ESPN and FS1 already focusing multiple hot take segments on Young.

Even the face of the NBA Lebron James weighed in on Young’s future.  No matter good or bad everyone seems to have an opinion on Trae Young before he has ever played an NBA game.

With that in mind, Young is set for what is going to be a very tough season for the young point man.

Not to say he will not have a good season, rather it will be a season judged on the highs and lows. Young is going to have to learn to deal with criticism and national attention Hawks players are not used to receiving.

Young’s game is going to take time to develop. He will have ugly games with bad turnovers and missed deep threes. But he will follow those games up hitting threes from way out and making passes Hawk’s faithful haven’t seen made in many years.

This year will be another losing season for the Hawks but it will be a big step forward for the franchise. They have drafted a box office player who is going to learn a lot this year.

It will be a tough year for Young as he learns to deal with the highs and lows of the NBA season. A season full of attention, attention praising him one day and tearing him down the next.

Young is going to be a good NBA point guard his range and passing ability need only a season of honing to turn him into a better point man than Dennis ever was in Atlanta.

His ability to pass the ball rivals any within the 2018 draft and will be on full display this season. The biggest hurdle for Young will be learning to get to the rim and finish. Forcing the defense to pay him serious attention somewhere other than between halfcourt and the three-point line.

His deep range and passing paired with an ability to finish at the rim would make him one of the top guards in the League in a few short seasons.

The question for Trae Young isn’t if he has the talent but rather can he deal with the pressure and criticism set to come his way this season?