Trae Young Suggesting He Was Surprised That Nate McMillan Got Fired Might Be The Biggest Lie Of The Season

Ron Hoskins. Getty Images.

One thing you have to accept is that NBA players lie all the time. Sometimes it's to avoid controversy, sometimes it's LeBron trying to convince the world of something ridiculous, the point is it happens all the time. 

My question is this. Is this comment by Trae Young the biggest lie we've been told all year?

Now, I'll concede that I have zero knowledge of what went on behind the scenes with this whole ordeal, but come on. Let's use our brains for a second. It was pretty well known that Trae Young didn't love Lloyd Pierce, who then got the boot. It was widely reported that Nate McMillan and Young butted heads this season, and McMillan then got the boot. 

I'm to believe this is a surprise to the franchise player? The same guy who had beef with the coach that was just fired? To me this screams PR. I imagine no player wants the label of being a coach killer, so there was a 0.0% chance Trae was going to come out and say 

"Yup, I told the team it was either me or Nate"

but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that this whole thing was not a surprise to Trae Young. I have a hard time believing that if the franchise player wanted Nate McMillan to be the coach of this Hawks team, that their front office would still go this route. It's in their best interest to keep their star player happy so they don't end up with a BKN situation where the best players are demanding trades despite still being in the beginning of their max extension. Do you think they would risk making a move like this if it wasn't crystal clear that the star player didn't want the coach? How does that make any sense?

Now, is it possible Trae wasn't surprised that the move was made, but was surprised that the team actually followed through with what he suggested? Maybe that's the angle Young is playing here. But who in their right mind thinks that Trae was completely blindsided by this decision and had no impact on it whatsoever? 

All I know is, if the day ever does come where Trae Young is no longer a Hawk, I imagine he's going to unload all the details of what has gone on during his tenure there. Makes you wonder if that could be happening sooner rather than later…