We are only eight games into the season, but the Hawks recent three-game losing streak has sparked some controversy in the locker room amongst the two biggest stars on the team — Trae Young and John Collins.
According to a report by The Athletic, the fourth-year big-man Collins recently voiced his displeasure with the way Trae Young is running the offense.
Trae Young finished with just seven points on nine FGA over 35 minutes Wednesday.
One Hawks player said he believed the aftermath of Tuesday’s film session – in which John Collins raised issues about the team's offense – carried over into the game. pic.twitter.com/gmKw2wlLSb
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 8, 2021
Collins talked about the need to get into offensive sets more quickly and to limit all those early shot-clock attempts that leave his teammates on the outside looking in. He shared his desire to be more involved and expressed a desire for more ball involvement and flow on offense.
The story also said that the two did not get into an argument, but it noted that Young did not agree with where Collins was coming from.
Collins later sent a text that read, “Trae is my brother regardless.”
Reportedly, this all happened before the Hawks loss to the Hornets, and now that this has come out, it’s no coincidence that Young put together possibly the worst performance of his career, scoring just seven points on nine field goal attempts. He also had seven turnovers to go with just three assists. Hopefully, this isn’t something that lingers, but it is undoubtedly worth monitoring over the next few weeks.
Another thing to keep in mind is John Collins’ contract extension. He reportedly turned down a deal worth nearly $100 million this offseason and bet on himself, so it is no surprise that he wants to be more involved offensively. Time will tell if the two can co-exist, but if this isn’t figured out quickly, one of them could end up on the trading block… and it won’t be Trae Young.
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