Trae Young is the greatest star to play for the Atlanta Hawks since Dominique WIlkins. He has woven himself into the fabric of the team. He also may be getting played right off the team by Dyson Daniels.
For most teams, losing their best player would be devastating -- especially when the gap between the best player and the rest of the team was so large. In Fansided's NBA 99 published prior to the season, Trae Young was ranked as the 19th-best player in the NBA. The next member of the Hawks was Jalen Johnson at 43, then Kristaps Porzingis at 53 and Dyson Daniels at 69.
Yet something surprising happened to the Hawks when Trae Young went down to injury. They were 1-3 when he got hurt seven minutes into the fifth game of the season; he hasn't played since. Atlanta is 4-2 since, with marquee wins over the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers in that span.
This season, when Trae Young was on the court, the Atlanta Hawks were outscored by 8.2 points per 100 possessions. When he has been off the court, the Hawks have outscored opponents by 4.8 points per 100 possessions. That is a massive 13 points swing, and it doesn't reflect well on Young's impact -- in an admittedly small sample size.
Dyson Daniels has unlocked something for the Hawks
Enter Dyson Daniels. The fourth-year guard had his defensive breakout last season, leading the league in steals and steal rate by a country mile and winning Most Improved Player. This season he has stepped up as the primary playmaker in Young's absence and played extremely well.
By way of comparison, when Daniels is on the court this season, the Hawks have a +3.6 net rating in 330 minutes (stats courtesy of databallr.com). Adjust that to the 232 minutes he has played without Young, and that leaps up to +11.2. In other words, with Trae Young at point guard the Hawks have been a disaster; with Dyson Daniels at point guard, they are a title contender.
There is certainly noise in those numbers, and no one is suggesting that Daniels is already a better overall player than Young. What playing Daniels at point guard does is increase the size and defense of the entire lineup, something that has always been a struggle with the tissue-paper defense that Young brings to the table.
Daniels' growth was on full display in the Hawks' most recent win, a 20-point drubbing of the West-leading Lakers. He wasn't the top scorer, even in a game where Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis didn't play. Instead, Daniels dished 13 assists, setting up career nights for Mouhamed Gueye (21 points) and rookie Asa Newell (17 points). Daniels was +16 despite going up against Luka Doncic on the other side of the court.
The Hawks are 9th in the league in defense to start the season. Their offense has certainly been a disappointment, and having Trae Young in the lineup would help that. But as Young hurtles toward free agency this summer without an extension in sight, the franchise has to ask the question: is it time to move on from their talented and flawed star guard?
If they do, it will be in part because Dyson Daniels is showing them another way. If he continues to grow into a playmaking force in addition to his defensive versatility, the Hawks will capture a better vision for a full 5-man lineup. And that vision will not include Trae Young.