Trae Young Complements Saints Running Back Alvin Kamara After He Scores Four Touchdowns vs the Dallas Cowboys

Kamara had a dominant day vs the Cowboys on Sunday

Apr 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) warms up before a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Chicago Bulls at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images

In what happened to be one of the biggest surprises of the day in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints went into Dallas and blew out the Cowboys. This is coming off of a blowout win over the Panthers and all of a sudden, New Orleans is 2-0 and looks like a contender in the NFC South. Leading the way for the Saints today was running back Alvin Kamara, who scored not one, not two, not three, but four touchdowns vs the Cowboys in a dominant win. After the game, Kamara got a shout out from Hawks superstar point guard Trae Young for the performance that he had.

Alvin Kamara been Different🔥🔥

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) September 15, 2024

The Hawks have certainly had an off-season that can be viewed through either a good or bad lens. Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes attempts to juxtapose both of those viewpoints in a recent piece explaining the reasons to love and hate every team's 2024 offseason.

For the Hawks, Hughes had this to say about the positives of their offseason:

"Love: They acquired future-focused assets. We can't really credit the Atlanta Hawks for lucking into the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, which ultimately became Zaccharie Risacher. But the acquisition of a top talent, even in a weak draft, combines well with the trade that turned Dejounte Murray into Dyson Daniels and a pair of first-round picks. Those assets give the Hawks optionality if Trae Young can't guide an otherwise unchanged core to more than last year's 36 wins."

However, he also had this to say about the negatives of their approach to the off-season:

"Hate: The on-court product isn't any better. Risacher is unlikely to be a helpful player this season, and the subtraction of Murray means the Hawks don't have as much overall talent as they did a year ago. Because they don't control their own 2025 first-rounder, it's hard to see the Hawks tanking. So that means they're stuck gunning for the Play-In with reduced firepower. It's possible Daniels will pop, and his defense-first skill set is admittedly intriguing next to Young. Atlanta could get organic growth from him, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, thereby compensating for Murray's departure. But the product, on paper, isn't as good as it was a year ago."

While I agree with Hughes' logic detailing why he likes the offseason, I cannot get behind his reasoning for why he does not like it. Risacher will not be an All-Star, but he could end up being a starting-caliber player. I would disagree with the product not being better. While trading away a player like Murray seems like a loss because, in a vacuum, Murray is a really good player, the reality was that he was never a fit next to Trae Young and the team was not good with both of them on the floor together. Young could see an uptick in production as the main vocal point of the offense and for the first time since they made the Eastern Conference Finals, the roster construction has been solid and the team makes sense.