Trae Young didn’t know why he got a late technical. But he kept his comments family-friendly.
Young told reporters that he was baffled by the technical foul he received after Marcus Smart body slammed him late in the Celtics-Hawks game Saturday night.
Still, Young said, “I’m not gonna Fred VanVleet these people. I’m just going to keep it there.”
Young was referring to VanVleet’s profane tirade against referee Ben Taylor Wednesday night, where he called Taylor “f-ing terrible” and complained about a “bull-” technical foul, one of three he’s received from Taylor this season. The NBA fined VanVleet $30K afterward, so perhaps Young simply wanted to escape with just a $4K fine.
According to the pool report, Young got his technical because he got up and pointed in Smart’s face. Smart didn’t talk to reporters after the game, but it looked like he got mad because — intentionally or not — his foot contacted Smart’s groin.
He’s lucky Smart didn’t “Fred VanVleet” him afterward!