When Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young missed Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, head coach Nate McMillan blamed his absence on a “misunderstanding.” Now of The Athletic Thanks to reports from Shams Charania and Sam Amick, we have a better idea of what the misunderstanding really was.
According to Charania and Amick, Young skipped Friday’s shootaround to focus on treating a sore shoulder. McMillan apparently did not approve of this, giving Young he two options. Either come off the bench or not participate in the game at all. Young chose the latter.
The Hawks eventually beat the Nuggets 117-110 and are now 13-10 for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. But statistically speaking, Young is a little down. His overall counting stats are pretty similar, but his shooting percentage is down across the board. The Hawks are adapting to Murray’s acquisition of Dejounte as his other high-usage guard in the backcourt. Ultimately, they believe Murray can take the pressure off Young offensively and cover his defensive weaknesses on the other side of the floor.
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But if the head coach and star point guard don’t have the same perception, it doesn’t matter. According to The Athletic, McMillan’s job is safe, but if he and his Young continue to have problems like this, it won’t last forever. When a coach competes with a star player, the player wins most of the time. But if Young and McMillan can’t settle quickly, the biggest losers will be the Hawks.