Hawks coach, Young look to communicate better

ATLANTA — The Hawks are heading into coaching camp searching for a little bit of a reboot.

First up: bettering the communication between coach Nate McMillan and star guard Trae Younger.

McMillan already bought the ball rolling after the Hawks had been eradicated within the opening spherical of the NBA playoffs, a bitter comedown from their run to the Japanese Convention finals in 2021.

In June, the coach hopped on a flight to go to Younger at his Oklahoma Metropolis residence, wanting to verify everybody was on the identical web page when camp started Saturday.

“One of many huge areas that I really feel we have to enhance on is the connection between the 2 of us,” McMillan stated. “I believe we have to be higher at speaking with one another and what we wish to do and the way we wish to go about doing it.”

The coach additionally desires Younger, who turned 24 lower than per week in the past, to assert extra of a management function, each on the courtroom and within the locker room.

“He is the face of the franchise and it is one thing that he has simply inherited,” McMillan stated. “He must work at it and turn out to be higher.”

Younger dismissed any try and recommend a rift between the coach and his largest star.

“I believe you are making an attempt to achieve for one thing that is not there. The connection is not rocky,” Younger stated. “We will all be higher in areas. We’re all making an attempt to get higher. We’re not making an attempt to remain the identical.”

Whereas there was loads of hypothesis that the Hawks had been headed for a serious overhaul after their playoff flop, they determined to maintain a lot of the roster intact.

The large transfer was a commerce that landed All-Star guard Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs for 3 first-round draft picks.

The Hawks will depart subsequent Friday and spend 9 days within the Center East, the place they’re scheduled to play a pair of preseason video games towards the Milwaukee Bucks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Hawks will return to the States for his or her last two preseason contests.

“It is an excellent alternative for our guys to bond. We’re making an attempt to place them in place for that to occur,” McMillan stated. “We would like our guys to spend that point collectively.”

It must also give Younger an opportunity to start flexing his management qualities.

“I’ve at all times been a pacesetter by instance,” he stated. “I am nonetheless studying the way to be a pacesetter vocally. It isn’t that I do not do it; it is simply how can I be higher at it. I believe that is what Nate is speaking about.”

“Our relationship is nice,” Younger added. “My teammates love me, I like my teammates. Now we will attempt to win this championship.”

Info from The Related Press was used on this report.