In two short seasons in Atlanta, Trae Young has become a star for the Hawks. Young has not only established himself as one of the best young guards in the league but as one of the best guards outright after earning an All-Star appearance in his second season in February.
Despite Young’s strong start to his career in Atlanta, it hasn’t led directly to wins. The young Hawks have taken their bumps as they’ve developed in the NBA. The result is the team picking at the top of the draft lottery for the third consecutive season.
Heading into the draft lottery, the Hawks have the fourth-best odds at the No. 1 pick. The fourth spot would likely put them directly in line to have a shot at LaMelo Ball, who would be an interesting fit in Atlanta with a high variance of positives and negatives.
An article from Chris Kirschner of The Athletic detailed some of the conversations in the Hawks’ front office on Ball.
“There are some folks inside the organization who firmly believe Ball is the best prospect in this draft class, and it’s not close, and there are others who are against taking him because of the fit with Young. Particularly, the defensive end of the floor scares them because they aren’t good on that end. From what I’ve heard, he’s not a total cross off for the Hawks, but a lot more evaluation and talks are going to have to happen to get everyone in agreement for him to be the choice.”
Young, who has shown to be a fan of the youngest Big Baller, and Ball would be a tremendous backcourt offensively that would complement one another well. Ball showed an ability to play off the ball early in his time with the Illawarra Hawks and Young has done the same at times in Atlanta, though not often.
Both possess incredible passing ability and vision that would fit well together on any team. Ball has shown an ability to knock down outside jumpers at time and if he can become a consistent shooter, he could open up the floor for Young and the combination could find even more success.
The area that is the giant elephant in the room when discussing a Young-Ball backcourt is the complete lack of defense. Young is already one of the worst defenders in the NBA and Ball doesn’t project to be much more than a below-average defender.
The question will likely be a philosophical one for the Hawks’ front office as to whether the team prefers to draft the best player available or the best fit. If its the former, it very well could be Ball’s name called. If it’s the latter, it’ll very much not be Ball.