It seemed a little odd during Friday night's Hawks-Nuggets game that Trae Young not only wasn't playing, but wasn't present at all on the bench. After a report from Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, we've got a little more insight as to why.
The Athletic detailed an exchange that occurred between Nate McMillan and Young involving the point guard's right shoulder during a Friday morning shootaround.
While Young was receiving treatment on his right shoulder, sources say McMillan asked him whether or not he would participate in shootaround. Young made it clear he wanted to focus solely on his treatment while missing the shootaround. McMillan ultimately presented him with two options for that night's game: Play off the bench - or do not show up to the arena.
In the media session Sunday, McMillan called Young's absence a "miscommunication" but didn't elaborate any further. However, The Athletic called this issue a "microcosm of tension that exists among Young, McMillan, and the Hawks locker room" with multiple team meetings the Hawks have already had this season.
This is very talented Hawks team that got more talented in adding Dejounte Murray, who gives the Hawks the ability to feature two guards that could play equally well on and off the ball. Not to mention this team was supposed to be one of the better shooting teams in the NBA this season. Well, Murray seems to bringing to this team what was expected in terms of scoring, defense, toughness, and leadership. It's the rest of the team with poor shooting and defense that's leaving a lot of fans miffed.
Related
To his credit, Young downplayed this issue in Monday's media session.
"We're all grown men here and sometimes we don't always agree," Young said. "It's a partnership. He's the coach and I'm the player." Trae participated in Monday morning's shootaround and is expected to play versus Oklahoma City.
In The Steakhouse, Steak Shapiro broke down The Athletic story and talked about how this could potentially become another Lloyd Pierce situation with Young and McMillan.