Back on September 21st, Trae Young sat down with Michael Porter Jr. as part of his ongoing podcast Curious Mike. During this interview, Trae Young went more in depth about his tenure with the Hawks, and ultimately explaining why his departure was needed.
There was one moment in this interview, however, was particularly intriguing for Hawks fans. Around the 30-minute mark, Young talks about his experience with the Hawks last season before getting traded, stating that he felt like he didn't reach the level of success that he strived for largely because he never felt like he had a teammate who could draw a double team.
In a vacuum, this comment comes off as a little arrogant, but he clarifies that his teammates in Atlanta were great contributors, but this lack of ability to draw double teams is ultimately what he believes as the biggest component as to why the team wasn't able to replicate their 2021 success in the following years.
Ironically enough, the Hawks have seemingly adopted this mentality right as Trae Young went out the door, which has people speculating if Young was ultimately the person in the way of this new identity.
The new-look Hawks have completely shifted gears
When Young was initially dealt to the Wizards back in January, it was understood that this was Jalen Johnson's team now. The assumption was that Johnson would carry a greater workload moving forward, but Atlanta has since brought in a multitude of pieces around Johnson that ended up being a major factor in the Hawks' success last season.
Now as the 2026-27 season rapidly approaches, Atlanta seems to be running it back aside from a few key bench additions.
One possible reason as to why this mentality could not be achieved with Young at the helm is simple: he commanded so much control of the offense to the point where it deterred complimentary pieces from even being considered.
With this new identity, control of the offense will more-or-less vary from possession to possession. When Young was the point guard, seemingly every possession started with him taking the ball up the court, where as now, that person depends on who's on the floor and the scheme that they're running.
Additionally, Young's offensive traits, and lack of defensive traits, ultimately capped this team's ceiling once team figured out how one-dimensional the offense was.
Granted, Young's shooting and passing skills were vital to the success that Atlanta did find during his tenure, but when that's all that a player can contribute, inevitably, the desire for a fresh mentality will arise.
Young ultimately got what he wanted in Washington, with a young core of guys who should command double teams.
There doesn't seem to be any hard feelings between Young and his former team, though, and it will be really exciting to see how his skillset can flourish in a new environment and system, as well as how Atlanta will do this year in their first full season since adopting this new mentality.
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