Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo weigh in on Trae Young’s business fit in Los Angeles

Could a trade to acquire controversial Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young bring the Los Angeles Lakers back into the championship conversation?

The 6-foot-3 high-volume scorer has long been touted as a potential trade candidate for the Purple and Gold. This season, it at least appears that Young and Atlanta teammate Dejounte Murray are headed toward a divorce, although it’s unclear which Atlanta player will prioritize staying. The Hawks finished with a paltry 36-46 record in 2023-24 and were eliminated by the Chicago Bulls, 131-116, in their only play-in game.

In a recent episode of The Bill Simmons podcast, Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo of The Ringer opened up about the possibility of a youth exchange.

“I don’t see how that would improve any aspect of their ceiling to win a title,” Simmons said. “They’re going to get worse defensively, and they have LeBron who will be in year 22, playing power forward and taking away plays. I think that would be crazy.”

“The only reason I like it for Trae is I think he needs to go somewhere where it’s not him and a bunch of unproven people,” Russillo countered. “Because he got the keys to a franchise and he was able to do what he wanted.”

Young, a great passer and solid scorer who was sometimes considered a ball-catcher and major defensive screener, averaged 25.7 points with shooting splits of .430/.373/.855, 10, 8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per night in his 54 healthy games. last season. His suitability alongside incumbent 30-plus All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis has been questioned.

“I think for Trae to have the best basketball, he has to learn to defer a little more, and he would do that with LeBron and AD,” Russillo said.

“You like this team’s chances against Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Dallas and Denver? Because I don’t like them,” Simmons responded.

Simmons raises an important point. The Western Conference is getting younger, deeper and more athletic, and adding Young may not be the best path to combat that.

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