Averaged 11 points and 9 assists per game, it is difficult to get a maximum salary of 350 million! As the team boss, should Trae Young leave the Hawks?

The preseason games have come to an end. After a few days of rest, the regular season will begin. Judging from the operations of each team in the offseason and the performance in the preseason, the competition for the championship in the new season is mainly concentrated on the Thunder + Rockets + Nuggets + Clippers in the West, as well as the Cavaliers and Knicks in the East. Among them, the Thunder is the most popular team to win the championship, but the Rockets introduced Durant during the offseason, including the salary reduction and renewal of many core members of the team (Durant is 90 million for 2 years), and the Rockets maximize their future championship window. On the Eastern side, because Tatum, the core of the traditional giant Celtics, and Haliburton, the core of the upstart Pacers, both suffered serious Achilles tendon injuries, the overall pattern was very divided, and the top two teams were the only ones.

In addition, the second-tier teams include the Magic, Pistons, Bucks, 76ers (if Embiid can stay healthy) and the Hawks. It is not difficult for these teams to get tickets to the playoffs, but the teams are almost in a hurry. Let's start with a piece of news. Trae Young, the boss of the Hawks, is very frustrated that the team did not provide him with a four-year, 229 million early maximum salary extension contract during the offseason. He has two years left on his contract, and his salary is 46 million + 48.97 million player options. If you refer to other first-line stars, such as Tatum, Booker, and Doncic, once the contract extension date comes, the team will take the initiative and hand over the maximum contract. If Trae Young can be selected for the All-NBA Team next season, he will be eligible to sign a five-year super maximum salary of 350 million next summer.

Just qualified! On the one hand, Tre Young was only selected to the best team once in the first 7 seasons of his career. On the other hand, according to US media, the Hawks have been unwilling to give Trae Young a four-year super-maximum contract. Even if Trae Young can be selected for the All-NBA Team next season, the probability of a five-year maximum-salary contract is close to 0! After careful statistics, since the free market opened in July, this is the third time that Trae Young has revealed his desire for a maximum salary and his dissatisfaction with the team. Is he worth a maximum salary contract of 230 million or 350 million? First of all, the Hawks traded Porzingis this summer, signed Kennard, and signed and traded to acquire Alexander Walker from the Timberwolves. The management is full of expectations for the new season. To put it bluntly, after the Celtics and Pacers fall, other teams will have opportunities.

In the preseason, the Hawks had 2 wins and 2 losses in four games. Both losses were due to the Rockets. As the boss, Trae Young played in 3 games, averaging 24 minutes per game and contributing 10.7 points, 8.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds. However, Trae Young's two shooting percentages were as low as 28% + 21%. This even caused dissatisfaction from the local media, questioning whether Trae Young maintained his training plan during the offseason. Secondly, Trae Young's assists are indeed very exaggerated. Trae Young has averaged double figures in assists per game for three consecutive seasons and has averaged 9.7 assists per game in his career, ranking third in history behind Stockton and Magic Johnson. However, Trae Young is also a very typical data brusher. In the past three seasons, Trae Young averaged 25.5 points per game, but his shooting percentage was only 42.3%!

is equivalent to an average of 18.6 shots + 7.9 free throws per game. Calculating it this way, on average, each shot is not worth 1 point! When he entered the league at the same time as Doncic, he had a very high starting point. In 2021, he led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals. But Trae Young has three obvious shortcomings. One is his inefficiency, which has been summarized above; the other is the insufficient confrontation disadvantage brought by his height, and he is easily targeted in the playoffs. Just to give an example, after 21 years, the Hawks also made the playoffs in the summer of 22 and 23, but they were both out of the first round. In the last two seasons, the Hawks couldn't even make the playoffs. Trae Young, as the core, had an On-Off value of +3.3 in the 2022 regular season and -16.1 in the playoffs; in the 2023 regular season, his On-Off value was +1.0 and in the playoffs was -11.0.

If the boss of a team has the biggest weakness in the playoffs, then the team has no bottom line. The last shortcoming is that he does not have much self-awareness. After the Hawks selected No. 1 pick Risa Shee last summer, Trae Young publicly stated that he is the core of the team. Rookies should understand this and start from the dirty work. But the Hawks have also accumulated a lot of good players over the years, such as Jaylen Johnson, who has already played well, Daniels, who was selected for the All-Defensive Team, and second in the league in Defensive Player of the Year! During the offseason, the Hawks expressed their intention to renew contracts with Daniels and even Porcelain, but they deliberately left out Trae Young. The Hawks don't completely distrust Trae Young. They can extend the contract, but they just won't give him a super-maximum contract!

Trae Young's market price is between 40 million and 45 million. He is very young, but there is no room for improvement in the future and he cannot reach the 50 million threshold. Some US media suggested that Trae Young break out of his contract next summer and go to the Magic; some even suggested that the Rockets trade Trae Young with Van Jordan. But I want to say that Trae Young’s style of play is destined to have no high ceiling. He is also a rhythm driver and requires a very high proportion of ball rights. Any team with the ability to win the championship will not consider such data brushing. Even a contract that is lower than the market price is a hidden danger! As the team boss, Trae Young has indeed failed, but it's time for him to face reality. He does not deserve the super maximum salary.