NBA Hall-of-Famer Paul Pierce didn’t hold back on the Atlanta Hawks following the organization’s decision to trade star guard Trae Young.
The Hawks traded Young this week to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. That’s it, no draft picks, no nothing else. Just those two guys.
Paul Pierce destroys Hawks for trading Trae Young
Overall, Pierce wasn’t impressed with the team’s decision to trade Young or with the return they got for the four-time All-Star.
“I’m never shocked at what the Atlanta Hawks do, as a mid franchise, as a franchise who is not respected as an organization because of ownership, they never do anything that surprises me,” Pierce said during a recent appearance on the No Fouls Given show.
"So for them to give up a four-time All-Star, a guy who is one of the elite point guards in the league who has got them to the Eastern Conference [Finals], and not even get a draft pick out of it? That tells me you just wanted him out of your city, out of your state.”
Pierce continued his rant by making a bold prediction about Atlanta’s future as an organization.
“Organizations like this will never be elite. Organizations like this will never win a championship in my lifetime,” Pierce said. “I guarantee that. If they do, I will crawl from L.A. To New York on my knees. … They’re going to be a middling franchise for eternity.”
The Hawks have been in Atlanta since the late 1960s, and they’ve never made it to the NBA Finals since, let alone won a title, so it’s not like Pierce’s claim is super outlandish.
This is an organization that has been allergic to the championship for over 50 years, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon.
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