NBA Draft 2018: Which players are heading to the toughest situations?

By Brian Rauf | Jun 22, 2018

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: Collin Sexton poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted eighth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 21: Trae Young reacts after being drafted fifth overall by the Dallas Mavericks. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

PG Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks – Round 1, Pick 5

For the record, I love Trae Young as a prospect and think he’s going to be a multi-year All-Star in the NBA. Atlanta, who acquired him in a trade with Dallas, is not going to give him a good start, however. Young already enters the season with sky-high expectations thanks to his incredible freshman season at Oklahoma and the enormous amount of press and attention that came with it. He’ll be one of the prospects people follow very closely from this draft and, initially, it’s not going to be good for him.

The Hawks are going through a full-on rebuild and have no real top-level players. On one hand, that will allow Young to take the reins of the team right away. On the other, he’ll be playing with lesser talent around him on what is projected to be one of the worst teams in the league.

Sound familiar?

This is the problem Young ran into last year at Oklahoma. He carried a lesser Sooners squad to national prominence by mid-season thanks to his magnificent play before tiring out and struggling over the final two months of the season. Unsurprisingly, the rash of criticism surrounding him came during those two months.

Young will get the freedom to work through the bumps that come being a rookie, but those bumps are going to be dissected by the national media. And, with the amount of losing the Hawks are projected to do, it’s not going to make for a good situation.

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