Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young is shooting down any speculation that his relationship with Nate McMillan led to the former head coach’s firing this week.
“I kind of let y’all make up rumors about certain things about how I am and how my relationship is with certain people,” he said after practice Friday. “I just play basketball.”
Young talked to the media Friday for the first time since McMillan was relieved of his duties on Tuesday over the All-Star break. The 24-year-old said the timing of McMillan’s termination was “surprising,” with just 23 games remaining in the 2022-23 NBA season, but added that he has “nothing but love and respect” for McMillan.
“There’s a lot of moments that people really don’t understand that me and him have had and that’s OK,” Young said. “It will get brought up eventually. I know I don’t tell everybody everything.”
Young said he had a “really good” relationship with McMillan and that he’s talked to him since his departure, adding, it’s “not the last time he and I are going to talk.”
“I appreciate him for being apart of that run that took this franchise further than it’s been,” Young said, referring to the Hawks’ Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the 2020–21 season. “He should get a lot of love for that alone for what he’s done.”
ATLANTA HAWKS: Nate McMillan fired with just 23 games left in 2022-23 NBA season
Joe Prunty was named interim coach, marking the third head coach Young has played for in his fifth season with the Hawks. When asked about the perception that he’s difficult to work with, Young said “people are going to say what they’ve got to say.”
“A lot of players have played for a lot of coaches. I don’t look at it like that,” he said. “I’m not looking at the next coach who comes in here. I’m trying to win a championship, whatever it is, I’m just trying to win.”
On Wednesday, Hawks general manager Landry Fields said Young “didn’t have any role in this decision” and that it was “solely my decision at the end of the day.” Fields said he’s already begun looking into a pool of candidates that includes former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder.
Young said he’s not interested in having any input in the search: “I trust those guys up top. Since I’ve been here I’ve always said that. Nothing has changed for me.”
The Hawks are eighth in the Eastern Conference entering Friday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawks’ Trae Young has ‘nothing but love and respect’ for Nate McMillan