Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young recently shared his thoughts on the team’s No. 1 draft pick, Zaccharie Risacher, during an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.
Young addressed rumors about his lack of public acknowledgment of Risacher on draft day. He clarified that he had, in fact, reached out to Risacher privately before the Summer League.
“I messaged him behind the scenes right before Summer League and just shot him some good luck,” Young said. “Just stuff like that and just stuff that people, I don’t even care for people to know, but obviously they’re going to know now.”
Young emphasized that he and Risacher have not yet had the chance to work out together. Risacher played in Europe before joining the Hawks and is preparing for his debut in the NBA.
The star guard also shared his perspective on the rookie class, noting that he views many of the new players as potential role players rather than future franchise stars.
“I mean to be honest with you, and no disrespect to the guys that got drafted, I mean from the outside looking in…a lot of us look at them as role players coming in anyway….I feel like the GMs all this year are probably just trying to figure out who’s going to be the best role player for their team,” Young said.
“As good as Alex Sarr is I don’t think he’s going to be their [Washington Wizards] franchise player going forward.”
Young expressed his belief that the 2024 NBA Draft did not feature players expected to have an immediate, game-changing impact like previous high-profile rookies.
“You know what I’m saying?” Young continued. “It wasn’t like they were going to be Luka [Doncic] type guys or Zions [Williamson] you know what I’m saying? Zions.”
