On Wednesday afternoon, the Atlanta Hawks ended their ugly seven-game losing streak with a blowout home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Hawks were in desperate need of a strong performance in this one, and they got it thanks in large part to 34 points and ten rebounds from power forward Jalen Johnson.
Trae Young was out of the lineup for the second straight game in this one with a leg injury, and the fact that the Hawks performed so well without him certainly will not do much to quiet down the chatter that has been surrounding him and the franchise in recent weeks.
“This Hawks game is most certainly not going to help the Trae Young narratives,” wrote one fan on X, formerly Twitter.
“It’s ridiculous how much better the Hawks are without Trae,” added another.
Young was out from late October until late December with an MCL sprain, and the Hawks performed relatively well in that period, sitting above the .500 mark by the time Young came back for a recent game against the Charlotte Hornets.
However, the Hawks' defense has nosedived since then, although it should be noted that it was already starting to spiral before Young returned to the lineup.
Overall, it's unclear at this point what a Young trade would look like, considering his well-documented limitations and the big contract he has, which might make moving him a bit more complicated than a normal player.
Most fans and pundits alike now consider Johnson to be the clear face of the franchise moving forward considering his emergence this year, although he too will also need to improve immensely on the defensive end of the floor in order to be a viable number one option on a contender.
In any case, the Hawks will next take the floor on Friday evening on the road against the New York Knicks.
