A guest podcast appearance for the franchise cornerstone.
In the weeks since the drafting of Zaccharie Risacher and the trading of Dejounte Murray, Trae Young has stayed relatively quiet on the workings of the organization throughout the roster shakeup. But now, in an appearance on Paul George’s podcast Podcast P, Young opens up about his perspective on the moves plus other thoughts about the NBA, international basketball and more.
Young talked about the state of the last draft — one which was largely looked thin on star power at the top. The Hawks, of course, came away with the number one overall draft pick and spent it on Risacher, who was only able to showcase his skills for two games in Las Vegas this summer.
No disrespect to the guys that got drafted, from the [outside] looking in, a lot of us look at [the players in the 2024 NBA Draft] as role players coming in anyway. The last three no. 1 picks, you got Victor [Wembanyama], you got like Ant Edwards, you got some big-time names. None of these guys – whether it’s [Reed Sheppard] — who’s going to be a hell of an NBA player — or [Alex Sarr] — who didn’t play well in summer league but who’s going to be a hell of NBA player – but a lot of these guys could be just role players.
I think a lot of the [general managers] this year were trying to figure out who is going to be the best player for their team. I don’t think [Sarr] is going to be their franchise player for them going forward. He’s going to be a great player and have a long NBA career, but the outlook on any of these guys coming was not like they were going to be Luka [Doncic] or Zion [Williamson]-type guys.
He later gave some props to Risacher’s game, saying “he’s a taller player, like a 6-foot-10 frame. He’s a defender. He can knock down open shots, get stops.”
But perhaps the biggest fulcrum of the summer was the decision to move on from Dejounte Murray in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. In two seasons with the Hawks, Murray averaged over 21 points and six assists per game, but the team’s performance was very clearly lacking. After a combined 77-87 record and just two playoff wins during those two seasons, the organization swiftly pulled the plug on the partnership in late June.
On Dejounte Murray, Young had this to say:
To be honest, there was good and bad. The only bad part was that we didn’t get to win as much as we wanted to. The good part was that we have a lifelong relationship. Our relationship goes outside of basketball. We are both family men, we both have similar people around us. The way we get along off the court is awesome.
On the court, it was tough because we both wanted to win. We’re not the first duo to not work, and we won’t be the last. […] I think it’s tough because we’re both very unselfish. I would pass him the ball, and he wants to be aggressive. He’s a point guard too, so he’s not always thinking to score first. When I’m on the court, he’s more of a shooting guard, so it just didn’t work. [..] In San Antonio, he was more of a defender, rebounder, get guys involved, but it just had a different feel here.
He also dished on the centerpiece of the Murray return in the trade, rising third-year player Dyson Daniels. Young commented, “he’s a bigger and taller guard that plays defense. I saw him playing for Australia picking up guys 94 feet. Not a lot of people know who he is, but I feel like he’s going to have a big year.”
Famously, Young has seemed somewhat miffed at being left off the national men’s basketball team for the United States on more than one occasion. He talked about the team’s recent gold medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics with Paul George, saying in part:
I mean, I got a house here, of course. California Olympics in 2028, of course. Nothing is given obviously. Everything is earned. We got a couple of years that just have to be earned, and obviously USA has a lot of talent. […] Of course, I want to play, but we’ll see. I definitely will be available, it ain’t up to me, but if it was, I would definitely want to.
I would encourage everyone to check out Young’s comments in full below.