Soaring Down South
Fansided

Atlanta Hawks Trae Young Criminally Low in ESPN Rookie of the Year Rankings

By Chris Guest

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 10: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the game against the Chicago Bulls during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 10, 2018 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 10: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the game against the Chicago Bulls during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 10, 2018 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Sure, it’s way too early, but ESPN recently released their Rookie of the Year forecast, which placed Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks all the way at 8th with a total of zero first place votes.

While the 2018 NBA Draft Class is quite deep, to rank Young so low seems to be a slight on the Atlanta Hawks point guard of the future.

Young’s defense is certainly going to be a problem for much of the year (and possibly much of his career), but winning Rookie of the Year is rarely reliant on defensive acumen.

Trae has one of the highest offensive ceilings in this draft class – rivaled only by his trade mate Luka Doncic, who was picked as the clear-cut favorite by ESPN to win the award in 2018-19.

One reason Young should be ranked higher is because he will have the ball in his hands far more than any of the players ranked above him – possibly even including Doncic.

Young will likely be immediately thrust into the starting point guard role, unless new Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce and Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk decide that new acquisition Jeremy Lin will serve as a steadier starter to begin the season.

Either way, Young will be given many, many more touches than, say, big men like DeAndre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr. or Jaren Jackson Jr. – all of whom were voted higher than Trae in the ESPN story.

Even Collin Sexton and Kevin Knox, who were drafted 8th and 9th respectively in the 2018 NBA Draft, were given higher odds of winning Rookie of the Year, which just seems ludicrous.

Still, both of those players had some hyped-up performances in Las Vegas Summer League, something that Trae Young did not benefit from, even after a stunning 27-point comeback capped off by a game-sealing floater against the Pacers:

Young also ended up being named to Second Team All-Summer League, which should at least count for something in these arbitrary rankings.

Next. Players to Watch on 2018-19 Atlanta Hawks. dark

For now, it’s fine for people to sleep on our new point guard, but to have him ranked so low seems like an oversight. He will have the ball in his hands a lot, and his stellar feel for the game and tremendous passing ability is 100 percent for real – which should already give him a solid chance of taking home Rookie of the Year honors in 2018-19. Only time will tell.

Home/Hawks News