Atlanta Hawks: 4 Takeaways from Media Day 2018
By Chris Guest
Carter, Lin & Young Should Bring The Crowds
With many eyes and cameras on the Atlanta Hawks this offseason, media day distilled the coverage into three major players on the team next season: Vince Carter, Jeremy Lin and Trae Young.
It seems fitting that three of the major new additions to the team represent players in different stages of their career that also happen to be aged almost exactly 10 years apart (Carter is 42, Lin is 30 and Young is 20).
Since these players also represent three of the biggest names to join the Hawks in recent memory (the ill-fated Dwight Howard experiment notwithstanding), much of the media’s attention was drawn to them.
Carter is an NBA legend, and his high-flying exploits of yesteryear have been replaced by a steady, mistake-less presence on the court, while his off-court persona and undeniable charisma make it clear that he’s destined for the broadcast booth at some point.
Even if his post-playing career is in his sights, he could still put forth some highlight-level dunks:
Lin, for his part, has a legion of loyal fans around the world who have stuck with him despite some ups and downs in his career – many of which have been tied to injury woes.
Though the incredible highs of Linsanity are long gone, Lin should still provide fans with plenty of room for optimism and many more outlets will be covering the Atlanta hawks next season than they were last year.
Lastly, Trae Young is one of the highest-profile rookies the Hawks have selected in a long, long time. The last time the Hawks had a Top-5 pick was Al Horford – and that worked out pretty well for the team.
A savvy social media presence who seems genuinely amped to play for the Atlanta Hawks, fans should be elated that Young is on the team – serving as an ambassador to other top-tier players to come join up down the line (when the Hawks are better).