The Atlanta Hawks were seen as one of the frontrunners in the pursuit of All-Star point forward Ben Simmons. The prospect of teaming an oversized defensive juggernaut with an offensive supernova in Trae Young was certainly a tantalizing prospect.

However, it was not meant to be as Simmons was shipped off the the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for an also-disgruntled James Harden. Despite the Hawks missing out on Big Ben, Trae Young was recently asked on the situation that went down between him and the Sixers.

Via Sam Amick of The Athletic:

“I like to see things from both sides — both sides, both perspectives,” said the Hawks star. “As a player, I can see where Ben’s coming from (with his Sixers frustration). As a teammate, as a coach, you feel like they should always have your back. They’re your brother. You’re there grinding in the offseason, before the season started and then throughout the whole season you’re with each other.”

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Trae Young was a big part of the unraveling that went down between Ben Simmons and the Sixers. Not only did he carry the Hawks to that upset over Philly in the 2021 East Semis, he was also the man under the basket in the infamous play when Simmons passed up a wide open hoop to pass it off to teammate Matisse Thybulle, who split his free throws in what was a close game.

“And then after the playoffs, everybody jumps on you as far as the fans, and then the team, your coach, and it feels like you just lose connection. So it’s hard to really go back to that,” Young followed up.

“But at the same time, I mean, we all take constructive criticism, and we all got to learn and get better in our areas of growth. … I can see it from both sides and see where both sides can be frustrated.”

Trae Young is no stranger to criticism. The Hawks guard is still one of the most disliked figures in the city of New York and has his fair share of haters. He's also faced some internal turmoil after Hawks teammate John Collins openly spoke out on the very Trae-centric offense the team was running before their playoff run.

Ben Simmons could've learned a thing or two from Trae Young had their partnership come to fruition.