Patrick Beverley has never been a stranger to the spotlight, from his on-court antics to his off-court controversies, Beverley always seems to have something on his mind. As his recent clash with Trae Young has escalated from taking shots at each other on X to a full YouTube video defending his takes, it only affirms this claim even more.
In this recent video posted by Beverley, he rips on Trae Young and his character, making claims that he lacks a solid work ethic, leadership skills, and that his assist and scoring numbers are merely just "empty stats."
But his most outlandish claim came around the 7:15 mark, when Beverley ignorantly puts the blame on Trae Young for Atlanta's struggles in recent years. This take isn't just shallow; it shows a real lack of comprehension of why Atlanta hasn't met their expectations in the last couple of seasons.
The reality is that it's pretty easy to blame Trae Young when he's been the only consistent piece in a constant revolving door of players and personnel. Trae Young's output on the court has little to do with the instability of the front office.
In fact, since Atlanta's run to the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2021, there are only two people who remain employed on Atlanta's current roster: Jalen Johnson, who was a rookie, and Onyeka Okongwu, who was in his second year. Furthermore, not a single member of their coaching staff is still operating under the Hawks!
To blame Trae Young for these managerial woes is just downright hypocritical, and it stems from a biased and already predetermined stance that Beverley has already taken on Trae Young. This is evident when we examine his verbiage in the video, which employs passive-aggressive phrasing, such as "I hope this is motivating for you" or "the game needs you," to insinuate his belief about the fault Trae Young deserves.
"The game needs you to be in the playoffs, right? You are the closest f***ing thing when it comes to shooting the ball to Steph Curry. The game needs you. But you've got to sacrifice yourself more for the better of the team," said Beverley.
This quote implies that Trae Young's output hasn't been beneficial to the team, when in reality, it's been the underwhelming pieces that were brought in by management that haven't allowed Trae Young's strengths to be as beneficial to the team as they truly are.
Trae Young has consistently averaged 20+ and 10+ for north of a decade now, even with an underwhelming roster, even with incompetent coaching, even with this revolving door of authority, the only consistent piece has been Trae Young.
Ultimately, Beverley's takes on Trae Young just highlights the bigger issues within Atlanta. Atlanta's recent mediocrity has stemmed from a combination of poor roster construction, misaligned coaching visions, and a lack of established retention and continuity within the organization. With Trae Young being the only surefire piece on the roster, it's frankly a cop out to place these woes solely on the fault of Trae Young.
While criticizing Trae Young may make the headlines and generate the engagement Patrick Beverley is clearly looking for, his takes don't align with what reality has been showing us for years now.