Trae Young’s introduction to the NBA more sporadic than spectacular
By Chip Rouse
Former Oklahoma All-American Trae Young’s first seven games in an NBA environment were more sporadic than spectacular.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft played for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Summer League. The Hawks played three games in the four-team Utah Summer League before moving on to Las Vegas as part of the fully loaded NBA Summer League, in which all 32 NBA teams participated.
Young’s first four games in an Atlanta Hawks uniform probably had Hawks fans questioning the team’s wisdom in trading highly-touted European star Luka Doncic, Atlanta’s No. 3 overall draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks for the former Oklahoma star.
Young averaged just 11.8 points a game, shot 24.2 percent from the field (16 of 66) and 17.6 percent from three-point range (6 of 34). A very lackluster performance, to say the least, from the player who led NCAA Division I last college season in both scoring and assists.
Chalk it up to nerves, playing against better players whose talent level is a step up from the college ranks, or whatever you want, the brutal fact is Young did not shoot the ball well in his first four Summer League outings. That all changed, though, in his final two games in Las Vegas.
Young shot 42.4 percent from the floor and 45 percent from long rang (9 of 20) and averaged 23.5 points and 6.5 assists in leading Atlanta to wins in Las Vegas over Chicago and Indiana.
It was good to see Young find his shooting range and rhythm in his final two Summer League games. He suffered a quad injury and played just nine minutes in game five in Las Vegas, however, and missed the Hawks’ final Summer League contest.
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One NBA scout who was in Las Vegas observing the Summer League action told Sean Devaney, NBA writer for the Sporting News:
"“With Trae, I saw a lot to worry about. Some good things, for sure. But a lot to worry about.”"
Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times had this to say about Trae Young’s Summer League performance:
"“At his best, Young’s a dynamic scorer capable of pulling up and hitting three-pointers from way beyond the arc, forcing opponents to stretch their defenses to impossible lengths, setting up express lanes to the basket.“At his worst, he’s a streaky, bad-shot-taking, ball-dominant guard who passes much better than he does anything else.”"
Here’s how an Eastern Conference scout assessed the former OU star’s Summer League action:
"“He has terrific vision. He sees the floor very well. His ability to make full-court passes, to catch defenses napping — to me that is the foundation of his game more than his scoring.”"
It was the opinion of a scout from a Western Conference team that Young was forcing things too much and that might be because he was trying too hard to make an impression.
Atlanta was 0-3 in its Utah Summer League appearance, but managed to break even in Las Vegas in six games.
Young must have done a few more things right than wrong and left a good enough impression for a media panel to vote him to the NBA Summer League Second Team. Josh Hart of the Los Angeles Lakers was named Most Valuable Player of the Summer League.
The Summer League First Team consists of Hart, Wendall Carter Jr. of the Chicago Bulls, Kevin Knox (New York Knicks), Collin Sexton (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Christian Wood (Milwaukee Bucks).
Joining Young as a second-team selection are Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns), Wade Baldwin IV (Portland Trailblazers), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies) and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Los Angeles Lakers), who played his college ball at Kansas.