Trae Young made quite a mixture of cryptic statements when asked about his future with the Atlanta Hawks. As many members of the NBA community should be aware, Young is the franchise star and point guard for the Hawks. Adding him onto their roster has brought the team back into relevance in recent times.
Although the Hawks did make the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, the team hasn’t seen much postseason success since then and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season by the Boston Celtics.
Since they had a slow start to the 2023-2024 NBA season, trade rumors surrounding Young leaving them and joining another team like the Los Angeles Lakers have been gaining momentum. Trae discussed the rumors and his future with the Hawks during the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend.
Trae Young wants to bring a championship to the Atlanta Hawks
Out of all the talented players in the NBA, very few are able to accomplish the ultimate goal of winning a championship. The majority of those stars usually shift teams in order to join contenders and improve their chances of winning a title. Since the NBA media tries to discredit every star who does not win a championship, the pressure to leave and join a better team always exists.
Since Young is quite an impressive player himself, he fits in that category and could ask to be traded. Moreover, the Hawks could decide to move on from him in the event that they feel they will secure better players in return from the right team. Trae likely kept all of this in mind when discussing the trade rumors that have been surrounding him this season.
“It’s (Being traded) part of it I mean, the best players in the game have all been traded Some of the few lucky ones have been blessed to be drafted in situations where they win championships and it all be perfect for them, they can stay in that one situation forever That’s what I want to do with Atlanta, but who knows.”
Trae continued, “This is the type of league where things change and happen but obviously, my mindset is staying in Atlanta right now and I don’t get caught up in all the rumors and stuff.”
While Young did express his interest in bringing a championship to the Hawks one day, his statement had fans wondering if he was taking an indirect shot at another NBA star currently in the league.
Was Young taking a shot at Steph Curry?
When it comes to loyalty. Steph Curry’s career with the Golden State Warriors is an excellent example. In Curry’s case, the team had a young talented core and made significant trades such as the acquisition of Kevin Durant or Andrew Wiggins. As a result, they won 4 titles within a span of 8 years. Upon hearing Trae’s statement, some fans opined that he is referring to Steph as blessed to be drafted in a good situation.
Although one could argue that Young said nothing wrong and spoke the truth, by claiming that Curry is fortunate, he is inadvertently taking away some credit from the GSW star for all the work he has put into building his team over the years. In any case, fans are left free to decide for themselves if Young was taking a shot at Steph or simply sharing his own perspective.
