Home NBA Report: John Collins, Trae Young have a growing disconnect

Report: John Collins, Trae Young have a growing disconnect

Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins has reportedly voiced his concern with how Trae Young runs the offense, according to Chris Kirschner and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

This took place at a film session on Jan. 5, one day after the Hawks blew 15-point leads and lost back-to-back games to the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.

Per Kirschner and Amick:

John Collins, the fourth-year big man who just weeks before bet on himself in a big way during his failed extension talks with the Hawks, shared his unfiltered and unhappy views about the way franchise centerpiece Trae Young was running the offense. According to three sources who were either in the session or had knowledge of what was said, Collins raised several issues about the way these Hawks were functioning with Young at the helm.

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.

There was no back-and-forth between the two, but the pointed criticism caught the attention of the room. And Young, sources say, made it clear to others later that he strongly disagreed with Collins’ assessment.

At least one Hawks player told The Athletic he believed the aftermath of Tuesday’s film session carried over into Wednesday’s game and was the reason for Young’s passive and lethargic performance.

In that lethargic performance from Young in the team’s 102-94 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 6, he went 2-of-9 from the field, 0-of-3 from three-point and committed seven turnovers.

“Trae is my brother regardless,” Collins said via text message, despite the recent disagreement with Young, when The Athletic asked him about the situation.

Hawks center Clint Capela reportedly had a discussion with Young after the film session about his time playing alongside James Harden and Dwight Howard with the Houston Rockets.

Capela relayed that Howard’s desire for more touches and Harden’s lack of passing the ball contributed to that group of players ultimately being broken up, per Kirschner and Amick.

With the Hawks losing three straight games, the focus will be on Young and Collins to see if they and the team can get back on the winning track and iron out their issues.

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