Trae Young reacts after major decision goes Atlanta Hawks’ way

Finally, four days after the initial trade went down, the Atlanta Hawks have officially (officially) acquired Saddiq Bey from the Detroit Pistons by way of the Golden State Warriors. The holdup involving guard Gary Payton II and a previously undisclosed injury put the entire four-team exchange that also included the Portland Trail Blazers.

After plenty of deliberation – and a subsequent trade by the Hawks – the Warriors decided to end the process and accept the trade. With the official announcement, courtesy of ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, there was plenty of relief to go around.

That included Hawks star Trae Young who shared his sentiments on Twitter.

Bey, 23, is expected to add depth and three-point shooting to a Hawks team that could use both while the hope is that his 6-foot-7, 215-pound frame allows him to be a better defender than he’s shown.

He does boast a 6-foot-11 wingspan but has seen his defensive rating fall each season since he entered the league.

Perhaps playing a complementary defensive role in lineups that could feature up to two stronger perimeter defenders in De’Andre Hunter and Dejounte Murray will allow him to shine against a lesser opposing offensive threat. Bey has been on the sidelines in his street clothes while his situation remained up in the air.

Wojnarowski reports that Bey can officially begin practicing with the team today and he did just that.

He figures to make his debut on the road against the Charlotte Hornets.

Can Saddiq Bey give the Atlanta Hawks a much-needed boost?

The Hawks have won four of their last six games and are set to return to State Farm Arena for a five-game homestand. But one key about this six-game stretch that Bey figures to help with, the Hawks shot 37% from beyond the arc.

They had shot 34.6% as a team leading up to that point, though had already been improving knocking down 37.7% of their triples in January.

Bey is shooting just 34% from deep this season and has seen his efficiency worsen in each of the two seasons since he shot 38% as a rookie. He is, however, shooting 37.2% on catch-and-shoot threes which is exactly the kind of looks he will get with the Hawks playing alongside the likes of Young and Murray.

It also sounds like this deal was always going to go through as it was or not at all.

Bey is in the third year of his rookie contract giving the Hawks two-plus seasons of control to evaluate Bey’s fit with their core group.

He should give them multiple floor-spacing options off the bench with rookie AJ Griffin as well as veteran swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic and newly-acquired Garrison Mathews.