Trae Young, the mercurial Atlanta Hawks no-D-playing star, wants to be traded to the Washington Wizards, of all teams, for reasons that aren’t immediately clear.
Actually, I’ve got it – Young’s game only works if he’s surrounded by a bunch of nobodies who won’t complain about not getting the ball, being able to get stops on D, or winning.
Unfortunately for Wizards fans, that means Washington is the perfect landing spot for Trae Young.
The Hawks are willing to move on from Young because, you know, it’s just time.
Young is a proven scorer – averaging 25.2 points per game over his eight-year career, though he takes a lot of shots, 18.4 per game over his career.
High usage rate: he led the NBA in assists last season, at 11.6 per game, with 4.7 turnovers per game.
The D rating is atrocious: the Hawks are 17th in the NBA, basically middle of the pack, in defensive efficiency this season, allowing 1.155 points per possession; with Young on the court, that number rockets up to 1.262 points per possession, a 9.3 percent increase, and by far the worst efficiency number in the league.
The Wizards are not known for their work on the defensive end: they’re allowing 1.209 points per possession, 29th among the 30 teams in the league, this season.
Their interest in Trae Young would be for the entertainment value, and not selling him short there – Trae Young games are entertaining, if you like lots of points, on both ends.
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Chris Graham
