“There has been buzz around the Atlanta Hawks thinking about getting out of the Trae Young business for the past few years. But nothing has ever gotten past the rumor stage. However, that may change.
Rumors have been running rampant over the last few days about a breakup between the Hawks and Young. Both have been major disappointments in the early going.
Atlanta has been looking to find the right mix since surprisingly reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2020-21. However, the Hawks have been middling since then, winning between 36 and 43 wins. The Hawks haven’t made the playoffs in the last two years and were eliminated in the first round the previous two seasons.
Hawks Star Open To Being Traded, Could He Land With the Team That Drafted Him?
This was supposed to be the year the Hawks were supposed to make a jump into contention. Jalen Jonson has developed into a double-double machine when healthy. The Hawks acquired Dyson Daniels and the 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zacharrie Rischarie last season. They added Kristaps Porzingis, who is making over $30.7 million this season, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who signed a four-year, $62 million deal, this offseason.
While Johnson has been great, upping his production to 24-11-8, and Onyeka Okongwu has continued his upward trajectory, tallying over 16 points per contest, the Hawks are 10th in the East with a 17-21 record. They have dropped their last two contests and 13 of their previous 17.
Injuries to Porzingis and Young, who have combined to miss 48 games, have been part of the problem. But the Hawks have other issues. They are just 8-7 in the games the duo have played together, and both players have struggled.
While Atlanta is a top-10ish team in scoring and an excellent shooting team, the Hawks rank 18th in offensive efficiency. The Hawks turn the ball over too much and are not a good offensive rebounding team.
It has been on the defensive end that their biggest problem has been. The Hawks are allowing nearly 120 points per game and rank 23rd in defensive field-goal percentage. Their interior defense has been atrocious; opponents are connecting on 56.3% of their two-point shots. They also don’t protect the paint, get back in transition, or rebound the basketball.
Should The Hawks Trade Trae Young?
Atlanta has a lot of flexibility to do something at the trade deadline. The Hawks are over $5 million below the tax line and have a pair of trade exceptions that expire on February 6. They also project to be under the cap with 11 played for next year, though it is presumed Porzingis will be re-signed.
Who could the Hawks trade? Johnson, Okungwu, Risacher, and Dyson Daniels are likely off-limits except in the right trade. Porzingis wouldn’t bring much in return and would likely be a salary dump. Luke Kennard is on an expiring contract.
“Trae Young’s Hawks tenure is coming to an end,” Shams Charania of ESPN tweeted. “He appears to be in his final days and weeks in Atlanta after seven-plus seasons together as the face of that franchise. I’m told both Trae Young and the Hawks know he no longer fits with the current team. We’ve seen the Hawks move and turn the page toward this young core of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Dyson Daniels, so both sides are collaborating on trade talks out of Atlanta, seeing where else Trae Young can land as the lead guard of a franchise elsewhere.
“And this really started in the offseason when the Hawks decided not to offer Young a contract extension, and now, Young is seeking a team that could give him an extension,” Charania continued. “This has also stemmed from the fact that the Hawks have played better this season without Young in the lineup. So between now and the trade deadline, the Hawks can either move Young, they can wait for his contract to turn into an expiring deal this offseason when he has a player option, or he opts out, and gives Atlanta $40 million in cap space.”
Teams Interested In Trae Young
NBA Insider Jake Fischer recently reported that “Atlanta has increased their conversations with several teams over the last week, sources say, with regards to finding Trae Young a new home.” However, Fisher did add that Young hasn’t necessarily played his last game in a Hawks uniform. Young has missed the past five games due to a quad injury.
For his part, Young is apparently open-minded, moving on from the lone organization that he has known. Then earlier today, ESPN said that “Young’s reps and Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh have started positive and collaborative talks over the past week on finding a resolution.”
While The Athletic’s duo of Sam Amick and Josh Robinson believes the Sacramento Kings are not interested in the 4-time all-star, the Washington Wizards have been mentioned as a potential suitor.
The thing is, the Wizards are far from an ideal fit. Young is owed $46 million this season with a $49 million player option for 2026-27.
Washington can make a deal for Young by sending either CJ McCollum or Khris Middleton‘s expiring contract out. ESPN projected that the Wizards would send AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham and a 2026 first round selection (the (via worst of Clippers, Rockets and Thunder).
ESPN also had him heading to the Wizards via a three-team trade with Sacramento. Additionally, the network had trade proposals for Portland and Milwaukee. Michael Scotto of Hoopshype confirmed the Bucks’ interest in Young and added that Minnesota and the Los Angeles Clippers were monitoring the situation.
Could Trae Young End Up With Dallas?
As Charania mentioned, Young has spent his whole career with the Hawks, but the Dallas Mavericks originally drafted him with the No. 5 pick in 2019. Of course, the Mavericks sent him and a 2019 first-round pick, which turned out to be Cam Reddish, in a draft-day deal to the Hawks for Luka Doncic. The Hawks selected Doncic with the No. 3 pick that year.
There has been no word that the Mavericks are interested in Young. But there’s been a lot of buzz that the Hawks are interested in Anthony Davis. Davis has his own issues, mainly with his difficulty staying healthy, and is owed over $121 million over the next two seasons.
“I think for now, though, just confidently speaking publicly, I think Toronto and Atlanta are still the only teams that we can talk about as confirmed teams that are interested in pursuing Anthony Davis,” Fischer said yesterday on the Bleacher Report YouTube channel. “And coincidentally, I think part of why Atlanta is expediting and increasing their conversations with other teams about Trae right now is because Atlanta, according to various league personnel with knowledge of the situation… Atlanta right now seems to be the team that is in the most aggressive pursuit of Anthony Davis.”
With the salaries of Young and Davis, the Mavs and Hawks could do a 1-for-1 trade. The Mavericks would save money as they build around Cooper Flagg, and the Hawks would theoretically get the star big man they have been looking for. While this trade possibly makes sense, it likely wouldn’t happen until the offseason, as both teams would have to adjust their rosters. Mainly, the Hawks would have to let Porzingis walk, and the Mavs would have to move on from Kyrie Irving.
Why Could The Mavericks Want Young?
Young is very similar to Irving except much younger. He is also five years younger than Davis.
“Undeniably, Young is a skilled player who can take on an immense offensive load,” Sam Vecenie of The Athletic said. “Before this injury-riddled 16-game season so far, he averaged 26.5 points per game and 10.2 assists over the previous six seasons. He’s arguably the best ball-screen passer in the NBA, a maestro who can find teammates from any position on the court from a live dribble. He also has a multi-level scoring game thanks to his pull-up shooting gravity and his deft floater game.”
“Unfortunately, he’s also a flawed player in this NBA era,” Vecenie continued. “Young has never really developed consistency in playing off the ball and tends to float along the perimeter when he doesn’t have it in his hands. While Young shot about 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3 on a difficult shot diet from 2020 to 2024, he has made only 41 percent of his field-goal attempts and 33 percent of his 3s the last two years. Essentially, Young shot the ball 3 percent above league average in terms of true-shooting percentage from 2020 to 2024, but has been 2 percent below league average since. And that’s before we get to Young’s defense, which has always left a lot to be desired because of his lack of size and strength.”
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