Atlanta Hawks: Complete 2018 offseason grades

Trading down to draft Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks made a big, and probably the most controversial, move on draft night, trading down from the third overall pick to the fifth overall pick with the Dallas Mavericks.

By skipping over EuroLeague phenom Luka Doncic and drafting an electric, polarizing point guard in Trae Young, the Hawks forever linked these two players for their entire careers. There’s a chance we could look back at this trade like we do when the Hawks traded the third overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, Pau Gasol, (and others) to the Grizzlies for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jamaal Tinsely. It’s safe to safe that the Grizzlies got the better end of that deal in hindsight.

Doncic was the safe pick for the Hawks, but the Schlenk and company had their reasons for selecting Young. There are a lot of negatives surrounding Young, like his size and defensive abilities, but the Hawks are banking on the positives, like Young’s ability to hit a 3-pointer from anywhere on the court and the vision in his passing.

During his only season at Oklahoma, Trae Young led all NCAA players with both points and assists per game. He was able to show off his skills even more in Summer League play, hitting seven 3-pointers in one game.

In seven Summer League games, Trae Young finished with 15.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. He got off to a rocky start in the Utah Summer League games, but came into his own more during the Las Vegas Summer League games. Trae Young has the tools to be great in the NBA and may be the face the Atlanta Hawks need for their rebuild.

Considering they got a player of this caliber at No. 5 and pocketed a top-five protected first round pick from the Mavs, it’s hard to be too critical at this point.

Grade: A-