The Atlanta Hawks are one of the Eastern Conference’s most intriguing teams this year. Boasting a 9-9 record and sitting in a tie for the No. 6 seed, this young group seems poised to be a threat for many seasons to come.
Leading the charge for Atlanta is the team’s biggest star, Trae Young. While it seemed like an understood and accepted fact that the Hawks acquired him in 2018 with the intention of building the franchise around him, some within the organization took issue with that this season. One of the key voices in that mild rebellion against Young? John Collins.
This week, Young spoke with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and gave his honest take on the rumored beef between him and his teammates.
“Of course if there’s anything out there publicly, I always go directly to [that person],” he said.
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
“As for the John [Collins] incident, me and him talked about it as soon as it got out the next day and we were both confused. It just got out and it was over a regular film session. So there’s no beef or anything in there to begin with.
“There hasn’t been any locker room issues on my side. Anything that people were saying about locker room issues, there hasn’t been one. It’s all about our team and how we’ve been trying to get better in film sessions.”
Part of the reason for the initial Young-Collins drama was likely the Hawks’ slumping play during that stretch. After getting off to a 4-1 start at the beginning of the year, the team suddenly started getting tripped up and losing to the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets. This prompted some within the organization, namely Collins, to question whether the offense should be run so exclusively through Young.
Fortunately, Atlanta seems to have regained its footing – going 3-2 over the last five games.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ reaction to Jordyn Woods’ Buss It video speaks for itself.
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 26, 2021
Young is also playing better, averaging 26.2 points, 8.8 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in 17 games this year.
This has been a season filled with mild drama for Young. There was his aforementioned issue with Collins. Plus that whole brouhaha with Grayson Allen. And of course the dust-up with Steve Nash.
Fortunately, it seems like there are no lingering ramifications from any of those situations. Rather, Young is now free to do him without worrying about pleasing anyone – and the Hawks will likely be better off long-term as a result.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
