Udonis Haslem notes problematic Trae Young trend amid leadership vacuum

The Atlanta Hawks have appeared more competitive without Trae Young this season, firing debate about whether the star guard fits into the team's long-term plans. On Friday night, Atlanta fended off the New York Knicks behind breakout forward Jalen Johnson's seventh triple-double of the year, marking the Hawks' 15th win without Young.

Hawks' better performance in Trae Young's absence

The Hawks, who sit 10th in the Eastern Conference standings 17t-19, now have a 15-11 record in games Young has missed. On the other hand, in 10 games he has played, Atlanta went just 2-8.

Three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem said Friday that beyond Young's on-field work rate, his leadership qualities looked pretty weak.

“Can you put your team in positions to win basketball games? I think that is the question that we all have for Trae,” Haslem said in a conversation with Taylor Rooks, Rudy Gay and Blake Griffin on “NBA on Prime.”

“It’s not always about basketball. Sometimes it’s about the way that you conduct yourself off the court. How can you get guys to follow you? Am I going to be the first one in the gym? Am I working out over the summertime? Different things like that, just to build that leadership and to get those guys to follow you.”

Haslem said he respects Trae Young as an individual player, but added that his style has not translated into winning basketball.

“And they brought guys in to help, and all these guys have ended up leaving. So, at some point you have to look at yourself in the mirror and make an adjustment and make a change. And that’s only going to come from Trae,” Haslem added.

The deepest postseason runs for the Hawkins since their loss against the Celtics in the 1961 NBA finals were trips to the Conference finals, which they have reached 8 times, most recently in 2021 with Tray Young leading the way.

Decline in Trae Young's performance

This season, Young is having a significant decline, averaging 19.3 points on 41.5% shooting, a career-low 30.5% from 3-point range, along with 8.9 assists and a career-low 1.5 rebounds per game.

Blake Griffin says Trae Young being undersized gives Hawks problems

Defense has been one of the Hawks' most evident problems when Young is on the floor. As per Rooks, Atlanta is 8.2 points per 100 possessions better in defense when Trae Young sits, ranking ninth in defense without him compared to 29th when he plays.

Griffin said that depending heavily on an undersized guard like Young is quite challenging in a league that is dominated by size and big wings.

“Today’s NBA, you’re seeing it with the Lakers: it is really hard to play somebody who is a mismatch defensively,” Griffin said. “And I mean that on the bad end, right? And Trae being his size, like, that’s just not an ideal matchup, I think.”

For the season as a whole, the Hawks rank 17th in defensive rating and 15th in offensive rating.