Trae Young likely knew his days were numbered with the Atlanta Hawks.
For the last couple of weeks, the rumors were getting loud, as the Hawks were reportedly open to moving him. Eventually, Young embraced the idea.
In the hours leading up to the Hawks’ Wednesday night win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Young reportedly made it clear that he was open to getting traded to the Washington Wizards.
As the inactive Young sat on the bench with his Hawks teammates, he got the news. The star guard was moving up the map in the Eastern Conference, and the Hawks hadn’t even wrapped up their game yet.
“It’s very awkward, and in my opinion, very unprofessional to trade a player like that during the middle of a game,” Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas said on ‘Run It Back.’
While Thomas is a former player who has joined the NBA media space, the Hall of Famer urges the NBPA to work on resolving the landscape of NBA trades and how the details get out to the public.
“I think the Players' Association right now, they need to get a better handle on how trades are made, how humane the treatment is for the player, and also for the teams. A lot of the time,the players are finding out via [the media] or someone in the audience will know before they do.
“They have family, these are human beings. A lot of the time we like to use the word assets, but these are human beings with family, but there needs to be some parameters when and how a trade is announced, and there needs to be some protocol developed.”
Thomas knows the business well enough to understand that players have little control over when and where a deal gets done. At the same time, he came up in an era where news couldn’t spread as quickly as it does now with social media. Putting himself in the players’ shoes, Thomas believes there should be a better way to handle these situations.
Shedding more light on the situation, Thomas could help kickstart the conversation between the league and the players to help make some key changes moving forward.