I hope that this isn't what it appears to be.

[Wurider05]

I got this off of reddit. This is not a good look. We will probably get that he is just hard on himself crap but folks something is going on here. 

 

 

[BrazilianHawk]

That doesn't look good at all. 

 

Another thing that doesn't look good to me is the NBA mixing up sports and politics yet again. I thought Adam Silver said it hurt the ratings before and they wouldn't do it again. I'm all for celebrating Black History Month (February) but I really dislike political messages on players's shirts. 

[kg01]

There may be a problem, there may not be.

All I know is taking a snapshot in time and trying to affix too much meaning to it is problematic, at best.

[bleachkit]

5 minutes ago, kg01 said:

There may be a problem, there may not be.

All I know is taking a snapshot in time and trying to affix too much meaning to it is problematic, at best.

No, the picture tells it all. There is an irrevocable schism between Trae and the guys. The bridges have been burned. All part of Rich Paul's master plan.

[benhillboy]

1 hour ago, bleachkit said:

No, the picture tells it all. There is an irrevocable schism between Trae and the guys. The bridges have been burned. All part of Rich Paul's master plan.

Didn't realize/ remember he was with Rich Paul.  Trae is very impressionable (peep how he all but eliminated the jump-back foul after the Nash firestorm), that ain’t a good combo, jack.

I also won’t read too much into it, he’s probably never seen a ball-denial strategy that cold in his life lol.  My expectations for him affecting winning or leading were never very high outside of his rookie second half, his floor game and strength level are gourmet meals to gritty guards who resent his stardom in the first place. 
 

I’m sure Paul has an issue/ grudge versus the coaching staff and John, so the wheels of departure are probably already set in place.  Life of a Hawks fan I tell you.

Edited January 16, 2021 by benhillboy

[kg01]

41 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

No, the picture tells it all. There is an irrevocable schism between Trae and the guys. The bridges have been burned. All part of Rich Paul's master plan.

I gotta be honest, I got no idea if this is sarcasm or not.  Ha

[JayBirdHawk]

Just now, kg01 said:

I gotta be honest, I got no idea if this is sarcasm or not.  Ha

I'm gonna go with sarcasm on this one, I hope, lol.

[bleachkit]

8 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I'm gonna go with sarcasm on this one, I hope, lol.

It was mostly sarcastic. But it is my belief Paul has his sights set on Trae going elsewhere. But some dramatic licence for sure.

[kg01]

5 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

It was mostly sarcastic. But it is my belief Paul has his sights set on Trae going elsewhere. But some dramatic licence for sure.

It's not nothing, I'll acknowledge.  Still, it should be stated that the actual reason he's with that agency is that his agent was hired there.

It's hair-splitting but I think it's meaningful that he didn't jump ship on his agent to sign with Lebron.

I dont know that every player signed by Klutch is destined for the same designs set up on a guy like Davis.  After all, the machinations have all been done to help Lebron.  I can't see lebron wanting to play with Trae so we may be safe?

[macdaddy]

I  noticed it live.  During timeouts Trae seemed totally disengaged.   This is definitely a problem no matter who is at fault.   Doesn't seem like there is much being done to rectify it.    It's becoming harder to make the case that LP hasn't lost the team even if it's just Trae that he's lost.  

[klharper]

I get being hard on yourself.  But Trae doesn’t get a pass for this.  A leader does not dissociate from the team just because he isn’t playing well or not getting his way (on the court or off).  I’ve noticed this a few times now on TV going in to timeouts.  Even one where he ran into JC with a cold shoulder bump and went to the end of the bench alone away from the group.

This is some childish bullshit, and Trae is not a leader right now.  Disagreement and calling out (both ways) is good for a team - dissociating and sulking is not.

[JayBirdHawk]

15 minutes ago, klharper said:

I get being hard on yourself.  But Trae doesn’t get a pass for this.  A leader does not dissociate from the team just because he isn’t playing well or not getting his way (on the court or off).  I’ve noticed this a few times now on TV going in to timeouts.  Even one where he ran into JC with a cold shoulder bump and went to the end of the bench alone away from the group.

This is some childish bullshit, and Trae is not a leader right now.  Disagreement and calling out (both ways) is good for a team - dissociating and sulking is not.

I can't say that I've looked at it at all, so I won't say one way or the other if true or not, but I do know that there will be a tendency to now be looking and seeing things that may or may not be there. A glance, a shoulder shrug, a moment caught in print, etc and say 'see'.......I would proceed cautiously.

[klharper]

52 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I can't say that I've looked at it at all, so I won't say one way or the other if true or not, but I do know that there will be a tendency to now be looking and seeing things that may or may not be there. A glance, a shoulder shrug, a moment caught in print, etc and say 'see'.......I would proceed cautiously.

Fair enough - but this is becoming more of a trend than isolated incident(s).  I see such a stark contrast in Trae to other genuine team leaders and MVP candidates.  

In post game pressers after tough losses, we see other superstars take accountability for team losses, even if they played well.  Trae’s most said phrase after all these games we’ve lost (and he’s played terribly) is “I don’t know”.  Even if he’s just playing coy, that’s not how to lead a team out of a slump.  Accountability and admitting your own mistakes is the first step to correcting course, and we see that awareness all the time from other stars.  

(LP hasn’t been big on helping correct the course either... he’s great when our guys are playing great.  He seems to flounder about with our guys when the struggles hit, rather than take the lead and make tough motivating adjustments)

[macdaddy]

Trae used to play and look like he was having fun.  Even when he's playing well and winning it doesn't look like he's having fun anymore. 

[EazyRoc]

Trae really needs a guy like Rondo in his ear in these situations. He’s running into his first real patch of adversity and I don’t see the veterans doing enough to get him through this. We need Trae Young at his best to win. There is no way around that.