Hawks guard Trae Young is trying to save his money.
But that didn’t stop him from dropping a few critiques of the officials from Tuesday’s matchup against the Rockets when asked about it postgame.
Young and Rockets forward Dillon Brooks earned a pair of double technicals after an altercation.
With 49.8 seconds to play in the game, Brooks bumped Young on the sideline. Play did not stop, though, until Rockets guard Fred VanVleet fouled Hawks guard Dyson Daniels on a layup.
Once officials blew their whistles to stop play, Young and Brooks’ heated exchange continued. Young bumped into Brooks and said something before Brooks reached for his neck and pushed.
A small melee broke out with players, coaches and officials rushing to separate. Eventually, officials went to the monitors to review.
After the game, officials explained in a pool report that Young instigated the situation by bumping into Brooks then closing the “space with his head and contacts Brooks’ face while talking to Brooks,” which caused Brooks to react.
But Young said he never got that explanation. Following the game, Young was asked whether or not officials provided an explanation as to why he received a technical foul.
“No, I didn’t get an explanation. I mean, they, they told our coaches that I head-butted him. But, I mean, that is, that’s so terrible. Like he’s 6-6, I can walk to his spot (and) my head’s gonna be at his chin. So, he knew what he was doing, and the refs, the refs tonight.
“I mean, I’m not, man, I’m trying to save my money. I got plenty, but I’m saving it as much as I can. So these, these refs are not worth my money, but we do need some new ones.”
The NBA issues fines for each technical foul given. The first five technical fouls cost a player $2,000. The fine increases $1,000 for the next five, then another $1,000 for technical fouls 11-15.
Should a player receive a 16th technical foul, the fine increases to $5,000 and the player will be suspended for one game. Each additional technical foul is a $5,000 fine and players receive an automatic suspension for every two additional technical fouls.
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