According to Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, Atlanta will be sending out Trae Young, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, John Collins and Alex Len to start their first game of the preseason.
Lloyd Pierce says that he will start Trae Young, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, John Collins and Alex Len.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) October 1, 2018
While the lineup lacks any real surprises, there was a discussion regarding who would be opening the year as the starting point guard. It looks like the Hawks have chosen Trae Young, who they moved back in the draft to select 5th overall. Young led the NCAA in scoring (27.4) and assists (8.7) in his freshman year at Oklahoma.
The other option would have been veteran Jeremy Lin. The Hawks acquired Lin via trade this offseason and sent Dennis Schroder packing in a separate deal. Lin has been a starter several times over his career, but is coming off a season-ending injury after playing just one game last year. He’s been active in training camp and will play in the pre-season. It’ll be worth monitoring his condition, but it’s going to take quite a showing for him to replace Young in the starting lineup.