Getty Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
Boy, what could have been.
Before he was a budding superstar leading his Atlanta Hawks to a surprise appearance in the Conference Finals… Before he was selected No. 5 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft… Before establishing himself as one of the nation’s most lethal sharpshooters as a consensus first-team All-American at Oklahoma, Trae Young was just a kid from Lubbock, Texas with aspirations of one day making it to the league.
Thing is, when that goal is sprouting from a then-undersized 14-year-old, it’s difficult for even the greatest of basketball minds not to write off such a lofty dream as simply that, a dream. However, don’t tell that to Ray Young, who knew all along that his son was destined for greatness. If only a pair of past and current Boston Celtics execs could have had a similar foresight to that of Mr. Young’s.
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Trae Young’s Father Told Celtics to ‘Keep an Eye on This Kid’
Young’s father decided that this past weekend was good as any to gift the NBA world with a gem of a story regarding his son. Ray took to Twitter to share a photo from eight years in the past, detailing a comical July 10, 2013 interaction that he had with Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens. At the time, Ainge was entering his sixth season as the team’s GM, while Stevens was set to embark on his first-ever campaign as a professional head coach, hired mere days before running into the Youngs.
Ray revealed in the Tweet that he informed the two men to “keep an eye on this kid,” referring to Trae. However, as he recalled, the two Celtics honchos looked to mostly chalk up Ray’s plea as yet another boisterous (arguably somewhat blinded) parent, although they were nice enough to share words of wisdom with the future NBA All-Star. Have a look at the breakdown and a snapshot of the meetup below:
8 years ago to date July 10, 2013 I told @danielrainge & coach Brad to keep an eye on this kid. They gave me that “sure dad, just take the pic already” look.🤣 But seriously, the were both kind enough to give my son words of encouragement.🏀❤️ @NBA @celtics
Celtics Thought Trae Was ‘Special’
Of course, as the years went on, Young went on to establish himself as one of the premier prospects emerging from the college ranks. So much so that, barring a trade, Ainge and Stevens never really had a legitimate chance to get their hands on the sharpshooting guard. Yet, that’s not to say that the organization wasn’t greatly fond of the 6-foot-1-inch, 180-pounder when he was coming out.
Former Celtics big man and currently NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine replied to Ray’s tweet, sharing that while he personally had his doubts about Trae, both Ainge and Stevens were sold.
“They both told me he was special before the draft,” Scalabrine wrote. “I thought he was too small and that is why they are the best and I’m just the white mamba.”
Ray responded to Scalabrine’s previous doubts, stating “You’re the man Brian. But yes that was the consensus with a lot of teams. I’m just glad the good guys (Atlanta Hawks) believed in him. Btw, great job with the color commentary with the number of games I watched this year on league pass.”
While Boston may have ultimately missed out on Young in 2018, they did land a nice consolation prize with Robert Williams, selecting the rising big man with the No. 27 overall pick that year.