USA TODAY International Edition
Hawks’ Young breaks out after slump
Rookie point guard impresses in Vegas
LAS VEGAS – When Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk made the decision to draft Trae Young fifth overall out of Oklahoma last month, he was well aware the white-hot spotlight was part of the deal too.
As if it’s not enough that Young is routinely compared to Golden State star Steph Curry and Phoenix legend Steve Nash, or that the Hawks traded down two spots in the draft to land him at No. 5 while netting a protected 2019 firstround pick from Dallas in the process, the combination of Young’s small frame and the nature of his long-range game seems to inspire overreactions from fans and media members alike.
So when Young bounced back from a woeful three-game showing in a recent Utah summer league to tally 21 points, 11 assists, three rebounds and a +9 rating in his Las Vegas summer league opener against New York on Saturday, Schlenk wasn’t afraid to admit there was a sense of relief.
This was a far cry from Young’s headscratching performances in Salt Lake City, where the player who led the nation in scoring and assists as a freshman shot 23% overall (12 of 52) and 12.5% from 3-point range (3 of 24) while averaging 12.7 points and 4.3 assists.
If only for a day, the growing talk that he was destined to be a bust was quieted.
“I think it just speaks to the way society is now where it’s all about instant gratification,” Schlenk told USA TODAY about Young, the 6-2, 178-pounder who averaged 27.4 points and 8.7 assists with the Sooners. “‘Everybody’s like, oh he missed one shot, and it’s ‘Oh, he’s a bust.’
“This is a long process for him. It’s not going to be a summer league. It’s not going to be a season. It will be a twoor three-year thing, and that’s when we’re going to find out who Trae Young really is.”
As is always the case with players who appear to have low “floors” and a vaulted “ceiling,” Young’s development will be interesting to watch. The Hawks were drawn by his playmaking abilities as much as they were his shooting, and it’s clear he’ll have an uphill climb when it comes to the defensive end.
What’s more, the prospect of the Mavericks missing the playoffs would mean there’s another lottery pick coming Atlanta’s way next year because of the deal that brought Young to town.
But the Curry and Nash comparisons aren’t just a case of premature hyperbole, as Schlenk and first-year coach Lloyd Pierce have personal ties to those two future Hall of Famers that they hope help Young along the way.
Before coming to the Hawks in 2017, Schlenk spent 13 seasons with the Warriors and was part of the front office group that drafted Curry seventh overall in 2009. Pierce, who spent the past five seasons as an assistant with the 76ers and worked with Schlenk and Curry at Golden State during the 2010-11 season, was backcourt mates with Nash at Santa Clara University in the mid-1990s.
For Pierce’s part, he’s taking no credit for the growing relationship between Young and Nash. The two point guards connected at times during Young’s lone season at Oklahoma, and Pierce’s friendship with Nash will only help on that front.
“I told (Young), I said, ‘When you get around (Nash), the basketball stuff is easy (to talk about),’ ” Pierce told USA TODAY. “You can study his game. Ask him what he did to gain advantages, physically . ... He just has a lot of discipline off the court that allows him to be successful on the court.
“You can get caught up in what the numbers may say, but I just evaluate ‘Are you making the right reads? Are you playing under control? Can you play fast? Can you play slow? Can you change speeds?’
“And then, his composure. We want to get up and down and we want him to make quick decisions. It’s a little bit different than college, even.”
By all accounts, Young appears eager to take advice wherever he can find it. It’s a good thing, too, as the scrutiny won’t be going away anytime soon.
“I think I got that in college too,” said Young, who hit 4 of 12 shots, 3 of 9 threes and was 10 of 12 from the line against the Knicks.
“People looked at me in college thinking if I’m going to be coming back to school or if I’m ready to make that jump to the NBA, so I know a lot of people are looking at me right now figuring out if I’m going to be able to play in the NBA, so I’ve had that in college too.
“I’ve gotten a lot of open looks (in the two summer leagues). I mean separation (from the defender) hasn’t been the problem, it’s been knocking down the shot. Like I said, this is only my fourth five-on-five game (in the NBA), and throughout the whole draft process I was only on one-on-one workouts, and it’s a lot different getting into game mode.”
Besides, Curry shot 32.5% in his fivegame summer league outing in 2009. Maybe, just maybe, it’s too early to tell what lies ahead for Young.