Trae Young talks draft-day trade, thinks he'll be better than Luka Doncic: 'Not a question'
The Atlanta Hawks selected Luka Doncic with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft.
Many considered Doncic the best player in the draft, a generational talent who was a tremendous value at No. 3.
The Hawks were not among those believers. They coveted Oklahoma point guard Trae Young and dealt Doncic to the Dallas Mavericks for Young – selected with the No. 5 pick – and a protected first-round pick in the 2019 draft.
Young: Trade worked for both teams
On Monday, Young told ESPN’s “The Jump” that the draft-day deal has worked out for both teams.
“I think at the end of the day it worked out for both teams,” Young said. “That’s how I look at it. I mean, Luka’s doing really well. I feel like I’m doing really well as well.”
Doncic exceeding expectations
So far, the Doncic believers have been proven right. Doncic is having a fantastic rookie campaign, averaging 20.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists and recently became the youngest player in NBA history to record his second triple-double at 19 years old.
That triple-double also made him the youngest player to record one with 30 or more points. Keep in mind that LeBron James joined the league at 18 years old.
[Ditch the pen and paper on football’s biggest day. Go digital with Squares Pick’em!]
Doncic has also made a difference in the standings. At 22-27, the Mavericks are two games shy of their win total for all of last season with 33 games left to play.
Mixed bag for Young’s rookie season
The jury remains out on Young. He’s shown promise, leading the Hawks with 16.2 points and 7.3 assists per game. But he’s been an inefficient scorer, hitting 40.2 percent of his field goals and 29 percent of his 3-pointers, an area that is supposed to be his specialty.
And at 15-33, the Hawks remain one of the league’s worst teams.
Young: ‘Not a question’ I’ll be better than Doncic
Yet Young told “The Jump” that he’ll be better than Doncic in five to 10 years.
“In my eyes, it’s not a question. It’s going to be me,” Young said. “But that’s just the competitive nature in my blood, and I think that’s the no-brainer with me.”
Young has a lot of progress to make
If Young develops his shot to become consistent from the Steph Curry-esque range he sometimes shoots from, he’ll become a valuable scorer and offensive puzzle piece in an NBA that focuses on spacing the floor.
With a pair of likely lottery picks in the upcoming draft, the Hawks may target an athletic scorer who could take advantage of the space opened by the upside of Young’s shooting potential.
But as of now, he’s not that threat. Doncic, meanwhile, is already surpassing his draft-day hype. There’s no doubt he’s the better player. Young has a tremendous amount of ground to make up to be in the same conversation.
Young’s a professional athlete. He’s honed a competitive mindset that almost always believes he’s better than his competition.
But by adding the qualifier about his competitive nature when claiming he’ll be better than Doncic, it seems even Young knows deep down the Mavericks seem to have gotten the better deal on draft day.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Saints player still upset: His Pro Bowl shirt says it all
• Golfer loses nearly $100K for questionable penalty
• Funny ending to rain-soaked, blooper-filled Pro Bowl
• Reigning MVP backs out of White House visit
