Play of the Day – Russell Westbrook

Before the play-in, there were rumors that Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks could evaluate their future together with the possibility of a trade.

But the Hawks extended their first round series against the Boston Celtics to six games, which could make their offseason less tumultuous. The Hawks hired Quin Snyder at the All-Star break and all sides got to evaluate the situation on the floor rather than conceptually.

“I mean, Quin (Snyder) is the future,” Young said. “I believe with him here this city is going to win a championship.”

Young was asked to describe Snyder’s late-season arrival.

“It’s kind of tough when you get in the position (during) the year and you want to put in your stuff but everybody’s already played 40, 50 games, or however many we’ve played at that point,” Young said. “I think he’s going to be great for us and I’m excited for the future with him.”

LA Clippers coach Ty Lue gave a positive update on Kawhi Leonard before Friday’s game in Minnesota. Leonard has missed the entire season to this point, as he’s recovering from offseason knee surgery.

“He’s progressing well. He’s been able to get on the court and do some things on the court, which is good for us,” Lue said about Leonard. “So just still checking every box, making sure that he’s doing the right things and his workouts are really good and making sure we don’t let him get to the next step until he checks those boxes, so our medical staff has done a great job with that, making sure that we make sure he’s 100% when he comes back.”

Leonard played in 68 games last season for the Clippers. The star forward put together a terrific all-around season. However, Leonard was limited to playing in just two of LA’s playoff games, as they fell to the Dallas Mavericks in six games in the first round.