Atlanta Hawks: 6 Players Facing the Most Pressure in 2018-19
By Chris Guest
1. Trae Young
Though the Atlanta Hawks had a chance to draft one of the greatest European prospects of all time, they instead drafted him then immediately traded him for the player facing the most pressure on the team next year: Trae Young.
All eyes will be on the Oklahoma product next season – locally, regionally and nationally – as everyone wants to see what GM Travis Schlenk saw in Young that made him dump Luka Doncic in favor of Ice Trae.
While the passing acumen and heady offensive skill set is definitely there, Doncic projected to provide a similar skill set in a tailormade 6-foot-8 wing body with a similar knockdown three-point jumper.
Doncic, however, did not lead NCAA Basketball in scoring and assists in his freshman season at Oklahoma, nor did Quavo of Migos clamor for the Hawks to draft Doncic in the buildup to the draft.
Young certainly seems like he’s focused on dismissing the haters and putting forth his best effort in a Hawks uniform on a night-to-night basis, which is nice, but we shall see if he lives up to the immense hype placed on him by fans and the Atlanta Hawks front office alike.
Because of that Trae Young is facing the most pressure of any Hawks player in 2018-19 as well as for the foreseeable future for Atlanta’s NBA franchise.
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Even if Young “keeps that same energy” and takes the “another day, another opportunity” approach to his daily life, he is still under a lot of pressure in his rookie year in the NBA.