Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young doesn't think his team gets the respect they deserve after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Young sees a lot of other teams getting the hype after offseason acquisitions and wonders where all the love for Atlanta is. The Hawks star also said he heard somebody say the Milwaukee Bucks' victory over the Brooklyn Nets' to start the season was a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals, when it actually was the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Needless to say, Young isn't happy about this disrespect:
Trae Young: “I don’t think we get the respect we deserve. I watch a lot of TV. I see people mentioning all of the acquisitions everyone is getting. No one is mentioning us. The Milwaukee-Brooklyn game, they mentioned how they were in the Eastern Finals. It was just mind blowing.”
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) October 21, 2021
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Star athletes like Young are always looking for any perceived slights to use as motivation, and that's clearly what he's doing here. While some people may think the Hawks were a fluke last season, plenty of experts think they're going to have another strong season and be right in the mix in the Eastern Conference, even if they're not viewed as a favorite.
That Bucks-Nets gaffe is admittedly rough, though, and it is true that Atlanta probably wasn't helped in the hype department by a mostly quiet offseason. The Hawks didn't really make any notable moves to bring in new talent, with the biggest transactions involving their own players. Young signed a max extension, while John Collins re-signed and Clint Capela got his own extension. Atlanta did acquire Delon Wright in a three-team trade, but he doesn't move the needle all that much.
Still, this Hawks team does have a lot of talent, and they had an elite record after firing Lloyd Pierce last season. They did catch a break with the Philadelphia 76ers melting down in epic fashion in the playoffs, but they still deserve a lot of credit and will be a force to be reckoned with this season. That's especially true with a motivated Trae Young.
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