Trae Young made his return to the Hawks squad tonight after sidelining himself in the previous game. The comeback ended in a loss to OKC, having further squandered a sizeable advantage. Apparently, things have settled down with Nate McMillan, since the All-Star point guard replayed. It would still seem that the relationship between Young and his coach is not ideal.
Sam Amick of The Athletic, who wrote the article recounting the incident, was on the podcast of Raja Bell et Logan Murdock chez The Ringer. He detailed what happened and the implications behind this more revealing spat than meets the eye.
“The incident took place during the shootaround. Trae was unwell. Nate asked him to participate anyway, because he is one of the coaches who wants the player to be there to be able to talk to him about the game plan, etc. .. Trae said no, because he was working on his recovery. Nate told him that, in that case, he could choose between coming off the bench or not playing at all. Trae chose not to play at all.
We mostly talk about what happened on Friday, but I think it’s a micro-event around a bigger issue. […] For me, the answer is clear. If we have to take sides on this, the players would choose Nate McMillan. There is nothing irreparable, we are not on something as toxic as other situations in the league, but it is not very good.
It’s also a sign that people within the franchise feel that Trae Young has a lot of power, maybe a little too much, and that this information has come out to give him a wake-up call.”
Trae Young gained status and influence with the Hawks through the 2021 campaign through to the Conference Finals. In terms of level, he is still one of the best leaders in the league, but it is rather his leadership and a form of individualism that he is blamed for. He is only 24 years old and still has time to mature in every sense of the word.
With his contract and what he has already accomplished for Atlanta, his situation is in any case more stable than that of Nate McMillan, who will probably not survive a disappointing season.
Trae Young refused to play against the Nuggets after falling out with his coach