The Loop

Trae Young was not happy that Grayson Allen was playing hard defense in Summer League

There's going to be a lot of talk about the potential high-stakes showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson that's causing golf nerds everywhere to lose their minds on Friday. That should be cute, but the only showdown that matters occurred on Thursday night during an NBA Summer League game, of all places.

Sure, that may be a slight exaggeration, but any time Grayson Allen goes full Grayson Allen it's going to turn heads. Add Trae Young, one of college basketball's other more polarizing players last season, into the mix and we've officially got pay-per view material. Allen's Jazz and Young's Hawks faced off in Summer League on Thursday, and early in the third quarter the two met up at the top of the key for a battle of which player will be a bigger bust in the NBA. Allen, as he's prone to do, was actually playing some hard defense, which Young did not take kindly to:

Naturally, some have already gone scorched earth on Allen, and it's hard to blame them considering his past. But it looks like Allen is playing solid defense, taking away the space Young so desperately needs to operate. Young makes the right move, ripping through like James Harden to get a cheap foul, but then he's the one that overreacts by shoving Allen, who obviously had to throw in a headbutt for good measure.

Afterwards, Young spoke with reporters and provided a reasonable take on the situation:

“That’s not the first time Grayson has gotten tangled up with someone, but it’s not the first time and last time I’m going to get tangled up with someone. It’s going to happen. This is the NBA. It’s going to be a physical game. Grayson is a physical player. I’m a physical player.”

Damn straight. I hope Grayson gets tangled up with someone every time he enters a game next year, because the content opportunities will be endless. Just think about all the drama from last season in the NBA, and now we're throwing Grayson into the fire. As Bart Scott famously said, "CAN'T WAIT."