The Art of Smack Talk with Brian Scalabrine

Trae Young has become a better leader this season for the the Atlanta Hawks, sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Young has taken a more distributive role within the Hawks’ offense as his usage has dropped to 27.0 from its peak of 34.4 in 21-22 when he was voted All-NBA Third Team. Young has always had a high assist rate, but that’s at a career best 47.5 this season.

Young flew Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher to Oklahoma this past summer for multiday training and bonding.

Officials with the Hawks have been actively working with Young on his leadership and relationship-building as he has had a reputation as an introvert.

USA Basketball released the roster for their upcoming AmeriCup qualifying games. Team USA will feature several NBA veterans for matchups against Puerto Rico and the Bahamas on November 22 and November 25 in Washington D.C.

Longtime NBA forwards Robert Covington and Keita Bates-Diop will join the team. Rounding out an experienced frontcourt is veteran center Frank Kaminsky.

That trio will be joined by several players who are currently playing in the G League. That group includes Henry Ellenson, Dusty Hannahs, Nate Hinton, Jahmi’us Ramsey, Chasson Randle, Javonte Smart, David Stockton, Paul Watson and Malik Williams.

Team USA split games with Cuba in the earlier qualifying window. They’ll play two more away games against Puerto Rico and the Bahamas in February. The top three teams in the group will advance to the AmeriCup tournament in August in Nicaragua.