When the Hawks traded back from the third overall pick to the fifth overall pick in the draft to take Trae Young and give the Dallas Mavericks the right to take Luka Doncic, there were many that questioned the decision.
Doncic was arguably the most polished prospect in the draft as the reigning EuroLeague MVP, while Young had an up-and-down season at Oklahoma. The Hawks, however, decided to take the risk on Young in hopes that they could work with him to limit the lows and have more sustainable highs, tapping into his potential as a prolific scorer and playmaker at the point guard position.
On Wednesday night, Young’s preseason performance against the Spurs showed that lofty potential as he had 22 points and seven assists in the game, with just one turnover. At Oklahoma, Young was a regular on highlight reels for his deep threes, garnering Steph Curry comps from some that were likely a bit too optimistic, and with the game tied at 127 in Atlanta, Young unleashed a 30-footer off the dribble to give Atlanta the win.
TRAE YOUNG NAILS THE GO-AHEAD TRIPLE FROM THE PARKING LOT! 🎯👌👀#NBARooks #NBAPreseason pic.twitter.com/xRstckFCr6
— NBA (@NBA) October 11, 2018
It’s the exact thing the Hawks loved out of Young, a guy not afraid of the moment or any shot, from any distance, and the ability and confidence to pull and hit it. Now, there’s the obvious caveat that a 30-footer isn’t exactly a good shot and at times his willingness to let it fly gets him in trouble, but that confidence is what makes him as good as he is.
The Hawks will live with the mistakes early in hopes of cultivating a more savvy approach to shot selection, because when the time is right to unleash one of these, it’s nice to have that in your bag.
