Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young will struggle, but he’ll be fine

Fans and analysts have fifth overall pick Trae Young as either the next Stephen Curry or a potential bust. The real answer lies somewhere in between.

When the Atlanta Hawks acquired the rights to point guard Trae Young in the 2018 NBA Draft, it drew a wide range of reactions. While some people think that Young has superstar potential, others feel that he will struggle to adjust to the NBA game. That fact that Atlanta chose him over Luka Doncic — who many believe will be a better NBA prospect — will only intensify the criticisms.

Due to the hype surrounding former Oklahoma Sooners standout,  fans are clamoring to see how the former All-American looks against NBA talent — real NBA talent. As he did in NBA Summer League, he will struggle with his efficiency, but he will ultimately be a good NBA player.

Now, I know that this is a rather lukewarm take, but it’s one that makes the most sense. Young probably falls somewhere in between the lofty Stephen Curry comparisons and the flop that some people think he will be based on a handful of games in Las Vegas against G Leaguers.

He has good handles, is a gifted passer, can get to the rim, and has a good quick release on his shot. Those are good qualities to have as a point guard in today’s NBA. He even flashed some good defensive instincts despite that not being his strong suit, displaying quick hands and some decent lateral quickness, albeit against Summer League players.

However, Young’s size (6’2″, 180 pounds) could pose an issue for him. I know that smaller, slighter guards have had success in the NBA and have even reached superstardom, but those guards are often the exception, not the norm. His lack of strength could work against him in an Eastern Conference that features the likes of Ben Simmons, Kyle Lowry and John Wall, let alone the elite guards he will see out West.

Those players will test Young on both sides of the floor. Teams will likely assign physical defenders to check him on a nightly basis and they will create schemes that would force him to try and stay in front of players that are stronger and faster than him. Because of that, there’s a good chance that Young will struggle in his rookie season. Will that make him a bust? Maybe, but probably not.

The truth is, no one truly knows how good Young will be in a few years, and we certainly won’t find that out this season unless he averages 10 points a game and shoots 30 percent from the field.

Young will do what almost every first-rounder does: He’ll have some games where he makes you think that he’s the next “point god” and he’ll have plenty more games that will have people ready to give up on him. That’s how this works. Lonzo Ball went through this. So did De’Aaron Fox and Markelle Fultz (although Fultz had fewer bright spots).

Young will be a good player, but it will take some time. Heck, even Curry didn’t become Steph Curry until his fourth year in the league. It’s easy to forget now, but there was a time that Curry wasn’t looked at as a franchise guy. There were even some hot take artists that thought the Golden State Warriors should have traded Curry in 2012 and built around Monta Ellis. But Golden State stuck with Curry and the rest is history.

Chances are that Young won’t be as good as Curry or even Steve Nash. If it were that easy to get transcendent shooters on your team, everyone would have one.

But for a team that wants to shape itself in the mold of the Warriors, Trae Young is a good, albeit lesser facsimile of him. He will be fine, and in turn, so will the Hawks.