On Wednesday evening, the Atlanta Hawks got back in the win column with a road victory over the Brooklyn Nets, but the biggest story of the game was a knee injury sustained by point guard Trae Young. The injury occurred when Mo Gueye was shoved into Young's lower body, causing the All-Star to go down, and although he briefly tried to stay in the game, he ended up exiting moments later.
Hawks fans are now awaiting the results of an MRI for Young's knee, which was initially called a sprain, and in the meantime, fans are wondering why the team has gotten off to such a tepid 2-3 start this year.
Recently, former NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins took to FanDuel's “Run It Back” show to break down why he thinks a breakup between Young and the Hawks is necessary.
“I've seen this story before, I've been a part of it before, it's just not a situation to where they're putting him in position to be great, and that's unfair to him,” said Cousins, who called on Young to leave the Hawks, via Run It Back on X, formerly Twitter.
A strange take from DeMarcus Cousins
While some figured that a trade could be on the horizon for the Hawks and Young after their second straight play-in game exit in 2025, the Hawks went the exact opposite direction this offseason by surrounding the point guard with far and away the most talented roster of his career, making the timing of Cousins' statement strange, to say the least.
The early returns haven't been great so far this year, with Atlanta dropping puzzling games against the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls, but overall, there is still as much optimism around the Hawks franchise as there has been in years.
Of course, the season could take a dramatic turn depending on the severity of Young's injury, but the good news is that the team has already ruled out it being an ACL.
The Hawks will next take the floor on Friday vs the Indiana Pacers.
