Southeast Notes: Young, Collins, Heat, Wizards, Magic

Hawks star Trae Young is “looking good” ahead of tonight’s game, says back-up center Onyeka Okongwu, as tweeted by Bally Sports Hawks. Young suffered a bone bruise in his right foot as well as a tweaked ankle after stepping on the foot of a referee in the third quarter of Game Three’s loss to the Bucks and was subsequently listed as “questionable” by the team.

He went through walk-through, shootaround,” the rookie big man said. “He’s looking good.”

Young has been resilient in these playoffs, battling through a shoulder injury in his series with the Sixers. With the Hawks down two games to one to the Bucks, his status for Game Four will be crucial to the team’s hopes of evening the series out.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

  • John Collins‘ restricted free agency has loomed over the Hawks throughout this post-season, but general manager Travis Schlenk re-affirmed the team’s commitment to him on The Jim Rome Show last week, calling Collins “the heart and soul of the team,” writes Chris Kirschner of The Athletic in his profile of Collins. Within that piece, Kirschner discusses Collins struggle to find happiness after growing up a troubled kid. “I feel like happiness has always been inside me, but I wasn’t necessarily as happy as I am now,” Collins said. “And it took me some time to realize that.”
  • Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald team up to explore potential Heat trades in this two-part mailbag series. In it they explore the feasibility of trading for guards such as Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Collin Sexton and Ben Simmons, as well as former No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley. Chiang also addresses the difficulties of trading for a star given the Heat’s lack of draft picks.
  • Fred Katz of The Athletic breaks down the Wizards’ offseason outlook, and their three main areas of focus: three-point shooting, defense, and, of course, finding a head coach. Meanwhile, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington explores whether the Wizards could opt to hire a first-time head coach this offseason. Hughes writes that finding someone who could grow with the roster holds appeal to general manager Tommy Sheppard.
  • Bobby Marks of ESPN breaks down the Magic’s offseason, starting with their options for the fifth and eighth picks in the draft and examining how they can build a more sustainable roster. Some key points: the health of Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, and getting some more consistency from Wendell Carter.
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