“I don’t want to get fined too much, but it’s frustrating” - Trae Young on the NBA's new foul rules

Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks is not a big fan of the NBA's new foul rules that were implemented this season. Young is off to a slow start and frustrated by the lack of calls due to officiating changes.

In a postgame interview after the Hawks' 122-111 loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday, Young was asked about his thoughts on the new rules implemented by the league. The 23-year-old superstar paused for a moment before saying he is frustrated by it, but believes it's a learning process for players and officials.

“I don’t want to get fined too much, but it’s frustrating. There’s a lot of missed calls. It’s basketball. It’s just, it feels that they’re learning, and they’re just — I don’t know. It’s frustrating,” Young said.

The NBA's new rules no longer reward offensive players who use abnormal non-basketball moves to draw fouls. Veering into defensive players in an overt or abrupt manner is also not going to be called.

Trae Young, who ranked third in free throw attempts last season, is one of the affected players. In the loss to the Wizards, Young only had three free throw attempts. For the season, he is averaging a career-low 4.4 free throw attempts per game, down from last season's 8.7.

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Trae Young is not the only player affected by the NBA's new rules

James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers

Trae Young is not the only player affected by the league's new rules. James Harden is currently struggling to get foul calls and averaging career-low free throw attempts. In the same postgame interview, Young also mentioned Damian Lillard and Devin Booker as victims of the new officiating changes.

“You can watch basketball. Damian Lillard’s never averaged 17 points probably since his rookie year. There’s a couple guys. I mean, Book’s averaging 18. There’s a lot of things that, when guys are driving straight and guys are getting knocked off balance — it’s still a foul, whether they’re using their lower body or their hands,” Young said.

Some of the players and coaches have spoken about the rule. Some agreed with the changes, while others were not fans of it. Nevertheless, the rules are here to stay and it's up to players like Trae Young, James Harden and others to adjust to the changes. Obviously, it will take some time but they'll figure it out eventually.

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