The Atlanta Hawks are one team many people are keeping an eye on with just about three weeks to go until the NBA Trade Deadline. With a record of 16-23, tied with the Brooklyn Nets for 10th place in the Eastern Conference, it is fair to say a shake-up is needed in Atlanta.
This team is still trying to chase the success they had in the 2021 postseason when they made an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They haven’t gotten close to replicating that and have played worse in each subsequent season.
Heading into the deadline, there has been a lot of chatter about the team looking to move on from guard Dejounte Murray. The Hawks paid a premium price to acquire him from the San Antonio Spurs, but things have not panned out. They are now looking to recoup some of the assets they spent to acquire him.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: DeMarcus Cousins, Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks Updates
Murray was expected to be a solid backcourt partner for Trae Young, but the two have not meshed well. Young is still a ball-dominant player and it will take more than Murray’s defensive prowess to make up for how massive of a negative Young is on that end of the court.
While the Hawks are still trying to make things work around Young, a time will come when they will have to decide if he is their franchise cornerstone player. In the opinion of former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins, Young should look for a way out of Atlanta before that happens.
In a recent All The Smoke Podcast production, Cousins spoke about the Hawks’s star guard and believes he should demand a trade. Cousins likened the situation to the one he faced when playing with the Sacramento Kings and was looking for a new start elsewhere.
“If I’m Trae Young, I’m getting out as soon as I can,” Cousins said, via The Dunk Central on X, formerly Twitter.
Young, a two-time All-Star, has produced some strong stats in the box score in his career. This season he is averaging 27.5 points and 10.9 assists per game and could be named to his third All-Star team.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: DeMarcus Cousins, Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks Updates
However, the question still remains about how much of an impact he can have on a winning team. In is an inefficient offensive player with over 26 percent of his points coming at the foul line. His negative impact defensively nearly cancels out whatever he brings on offense as teams continually hunt him on that side of the court and find success in doing so.
Young would likely be better off as the sidekick to a bonafide star, not the player you build a team around. As long as he stays with the Hawks, he will become the scapegoat as Cousins believes as he is the player who has been designated as the face of their franchise.
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