Star Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young joined Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors for a live podcast recording at the first annual Uninterrupted Film Festival. Today, it’s grabbing all of the headlines.
As a three-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion (among many other accolades), there may not be a player with a better understanding of who Young is as a player. Green asked tremendous questions and certainly attacked some narratives that followed Young throughout his career.
This one will create new fans for Green throughout Georgia. Everyone knows that comparisons between Doncic and Young will never cease due to the infamous draft-day trade. However, Green highlights the media’s narratives surrounding Young.
“You’ve been All-NBA, he’s All-NBA, you’ve been All-Star, he’s an All-Star, neither has won MVP, both has led their team to a Conference Finals,” Green says.
Quickly after highlighting their similar accolades, he mentions that Doncic missed the play-in this year while Young led the Hawks past the Miami Heat in their first play-in game. He continues to say, “Your name is being thrown around in trade talks… the day of the play-in game.” He proceeds to ask the crowd if they’ve ever heard anyone talk about Doncic being traded, a question to which everyone knows the answer.
He finishes with, “but the narrative out there isn’t the same,” inferring that Trae gets better media treatment while Young constantly makes negative headline appearances.
Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young addresses narratives
Young responded with poise and included, “Real ones get it.” Green eloquently addressed a narrative that all Hawks fans have endured since 2019.
Later in the episode, Green inquires about Young being labeled a “coach-killer.” Green starts by emphasizing he has only had two coaches in his career, Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr. Obviously, Young hasn’t been quite as blessed, but he’s been put to blame. Green notes that when both Pierce and McMillan were fired, it is “Trae Young’s fault.” He notes coaches get fired every day, and he calls this narrative “ridiculous.”
Young then speaks on how much both Lloyd Pierce and Nate McMillan did for him in each of their relatively short tenures as head coach for the Hawks. Green says jokingly, “Let me tell you something brother, you made Nate McMillan an extra $10-to-$15 million dollars but they say you killed him… that’s a hell of a sword to die on.”
In this interview, Green lets the voice be heard of all Hawks fans across the world. The one thing about players having their own podcasts, and why Young started his, is to control the narrative.
All quotes are taken from the official interview found on the Bleacher Report website.
Green and Young also speak about entering the league with a chip on their shoulder, podcasting tips, Young entering the league as a franchise player, among other topics.
Young also interestingly shares he served as a ball-boy at Oklahoma while Blake Griffin was playing.