Trae always had the much higher ceiling. I like that he's showing that he's not just a poor man's Steph Curry. He's a different player with more of a playmakers mentality not just a scorer.
Both these guys turned out to be great but right now I still take Lonzo. I know Young proved himself to be a special scoring talent but personally I think scorers are easier to find than 6'6 pgs who can defend 1-3 and still snipe from 3 pt land. Young is def a special talent and will have a higher rating than Ball in NBA2k however if Young is your best player you arent winning a ring. With Lonzo he can play with somebody like Jalen Green and may be part of a champ contender someday.
Nah I'm serious. This is just from a purely player standpoint and ignoring factors like Young is worth more on the trade market. The question you need to ask is Trae Young good enough to be the best player to win a ring? My answer is no, therefore if he is your pg and offensive star then it's actually a trap cuz getting him would prevent you from getting players who could be the no 1 option on a champ team. Now that Hawks have Young, they wont be looking at guys like Luka who are better versions of Young they'd be looking for defensive players who can complement Young. So in the playoff if the team with Luka meets the team with Young guess who is going home? Thats right its the team with Young. Thats whats happened with Cp3 for most of his career thats why he hasnt won anything till he became an expensive role player. OTH Lonzo fits pretty much any superstar because of his skills and size. It doesnt matter if the superstar is Giannis, Jokic, Luka, hell even Trae Young Lonzo fits as a sidekick with whoever because he is an off the 3 pt shooter while also serving as primary ball handler and secondary playmaker while on defense he can guard guys 1-3. You arent blocked off from getting that superstar who is no 1 option on champ team like Luka. Of course this runs counter to normal line of reasoning because Young is a superstar while Lonzo is a role player, but if your thinking is Young isnt good enough then you need to find a superstar regardless which pg you choose.
Lonzo hasn't turned out "great.' At best he's proven he is a good starter on a below avg team. He doesn't do anything great or at all star level. Trae Young may or may not be the best player on a championship team, but he's already proven he can be the best player on a title contending team. His team just beat the number 1 seed and is in the conference finals! What title will a team with Lonzo as the best player on the team win? They would be lucky to win 1 out of every 3 games. On the Pelicans with Zion and Ingram who are both much better players than him, the Pelicans are under .500 and in the lottery. Lonzo is not a star or an all-star and will at best be the 3rd of 4th best player on a good team.
Philly is not a title contending team not when they have broke shot trio Simmons, Thybulle and Maxey. They didn't beat the no 1 seed that would the Jazz and even then no one considered the Jazz title contenders. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bucks destroy the Hawks moving forward so no they aren't title contenders, both these teams wouldn't even be here if Boston and Brooklyn were fully healthy. Right, team with Lonzo as the best player will be among the worst teams in the league. Then they'll get a top pick and end up with a Luka/Cade/Giannis type player who'll be the no 1 option while Lonzo will serve as the perfect sidekick. That's a much better result than riding Trae Young to the semis year after year and not winning a ring till he leaves the team. I'd rather have a Klay Thompson wh complements Steph Curry over a Dame Lillard who is all alone on the Blazers. As a 23 yr old Lonzo remade his shot from downright ugly to 38% from 3, much higher than Young's 34% for the season or 31% in the playoffs. All Star is just a popularity contest at the end of the day I take the better defense, height and 3 pt shooting over all star nomination any day every day.
The choice isn't between Lonzo and cade or mobley vs Trae. It's Lonzo vs Trae... who between the two would you prefer. Trae wasn't even an all-star this season so that point isn't even relevant. What Trae doing in only his third season is lead his team to the conference finals. Thats inarguably better than a player who hasn't been better than even the third best player on a lottery team. Lonzo hasn't shown he can help a team make the playoffs let alone semis or championship. Klay over dame probably isn't a popular choice but it isn't comparable to Lonzo and Trae. Klay is one of the better player at his position. He's a proven winner and contributor on championship team. Dame is a top 10 or so player. Trae in only his third season is proving he is headed in that trajectory. Lonzo has been a middling player on lottery teams his entire career.
