The tale of Trae Young‘s ascent to the NBA has been one of triumph and controversy. While his inventive play and indisputable talent have won him a devoted following, they have also infuriated other teams and their fans. Young has drawn both acclaim and criticism for his daring confidence and his capacity to put on clutch performances.
Perhaps one of the harshest names he’s earned is ‘coach killer’. The 24-year-old recently opened up about his turbulent relationship with his former coach, Lloyd Pierce, who was fired by the team in the 2020-21 NBA season.
Trae Young discloses his unstable relationship with former coach
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Early on in his career, Young struggled with his first coach, Lloyd Pierce. The pair were never able to win more than 30 games in a season. Eventually, in the middle of the 2020?21 season, the veteran was let go from his position as a coach. But the Atlanta Hawks?made a spectacular comeback under the leadership of new head coach Nate McMillan.
Indeed, the Hawks defied all expectations by advancing into the playoffs and winning the Eastern Conference Finals in the same season. However, Young has earned a reputation as a ‘coach-killer’ because of his alleged conflicts with McMillan, who was subsequently fired from his role as a coach.
The youngster recently appeared in The Draymond Green Show live, where the 24-year-old point guard talked about his questionable relationship with Pierce. He also revealed his thoughts about the harsh label that was slapped on him.
“This journey has been tough”, he admitted. “Being labeled a coach killer was crazy to me. I mean Lloyd coming in, he’s my first coach. And having him, he was perfect for us. We were a young team, and the thing is LP would tell you, he was bought in to develop guys. Like he was the developing guy in Philly, getting everybody right, this was his first job.”
Furthermore, Young revealed how he and Pierce shared their first days on the job together. “I got nothing but love for LP. A lot of people wanna label mean words to him yeah, we butted heads a couple of times in certain situations but we always had respect for each other. So people don’t always wanna label that part, mention that part,”?he claimed.
Presently, the Hawks have Quin Snyder as the head coach. Young hopes to develop a similar rapport with him that Green has with his coach, Steve Kerr.
Is Quin Snyder a good fit for Young?
Quin Snyder’s hiring has sparked excitement within the Hawks camp. Young has praised him as a coach and expressed his eagerness to collaborate with him in the offseason. However, it still has to be seen whether the point guard can modify his style to function in a system that emphasizes more motion and off-ball movement.
“He brings something special to our team. I really enjoy playing for him.”
Trae Young is looking forward to a full summer working with Quin Snyder ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/G4gQhTm0IA
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) April 28, 2023
Young has demonstrated his ability to execute on a grand scale. Furthermore, he has guided the Hawks far into the playoffs, so his offensive abilities are undeniable.
Although his capacity for scoring and controlling games is alluring, it hasn’t consistently led to team success. His defensive shortcomings and unwillingness to move off the ball have drawn criticism.
There is hope that Young can develop and work on these areas of improvement under the direction of his new coach. His ability to develop and strike a balance between using his scoring skills and adding to the Hawks’ overall offensive dynamics may determine the team’s success.
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