DALLAS — Trae Young made his annual trip to the AAC Wednesday, and while the Hawks left town a 130-122 winner, we can at least declare Luka Doncic and the Mavs — now and forever — the winner of the 2018 draft night trade with Atlanta.
Doncic entered the league at a slightly higher performance level than Young — not to be confused with “a step faster” — but the Hawks guard kept the argument close, especially when he led Atlanta to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021. Doncic matched that feat in the West last spring, and, as the league’s leading scorer, even the most impartial observer is going to take Luka over Trae and do it quickly. Doncic is featured in every reasonable MVP discussion this season and Young doesn’t factor into any of them.
The next question: Does that mean anything?
