Atlanta Hawks: 3 Reasons Why Kent Bazemore Won’t be Traded This Season
Trae Young will Develop
Holding off on trading Bazemore would help Young develop significantly for several reasons. No disrespect to Huerter, but he is not ready to take on the mantle of being a starter. Huerter will definitely have his day to start in the backcourt with his fellow rookie.
For the time being, the former Maryland Terp needs to continue to contribute on both ends of the floor and get accustomed to the flow of the game. Pairing KB with “Ice Trae” is a solid move and provides the best of both worlds.
Originally it seemed as if Jeremy Lin would get the nod as the starter. Nevertheless, Pierce had other plans, which will force Young to grow more quickly. Baze will help motivate him on and off the court over the course of the season.
Also, KB can help Young see certain things on the floor while they happen at game speed. The fact that the Hawks are rebuilding takes the pressure off of Young to learn everything right away. Bazemore’s defensive intensity will rub off on the young rookie, which will help him develop into a two-way player.
Plenty of times this season you may have seen the 29-year-old encourage the rookie to keep going. In addition to encouragement, Young has done an outstanding job finding his backcourt mate and passing him the ball in open space, which has resulted in backdoor cuts, wide-open shots or an extra pass to another teammate.
Anything is possible in the NBA and the Atlanta Hawks front office could, at any point, decide to trade their longtime guard in Bazemore but maybe holding on to him for one season couldn’t hurt.
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