Atlanta Hawks: 3 players facing the most pressure in 2018-19

1. Trae Young

The Hawks have not hidden their desire to make Trae Young the face of their franchise. It’s not a surprise either. At the age of 19, he just led all of NCAA in points and assists per game. Young is also one of just a handful of college players to dish out 20 or more assists in one game.

The first step in putting Young as the face of the franchise was trading Luka Doncic, the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, to the Dallas Mavericks for Young (and that protected first round pick).

The Hawks followed that move up by trading for veteran point guard Jeremy Lin. Lin will be a big question mark for the team after just 37 games played in the last two years, but the experience he brings to the team could catapult Young to becoming the NBA star Atlanta hopes he can be.

Lastly, after months of trying, the Hawks finally shipped out Dennis Schroder to the Oklahoma City Thunder. With Schroder out of the picture, it is only a matter of time before Young takes over the reins at point guard.

Trae Young will have his bumps in the spotlight though. While he will be a deadly 3-point shooter and has great handles, he also has a small frame and a propensity for turnovers. He’ll have NBA talent on the court with him to help cover some mistakes, but he’s also playing NBA-level defenses and won’t be able to be as reckless on the court as he was in Oklahoma.

The pressure was on Young as soon as he received his draft-day cap from the Hawks. He has all the potential in the world, but the pressure could crush him too, forcing the Hawks to go back to the drawing board.