Hawks ‘Highly Likely’ To Trade Trae Young In Summer

According to NBA insider Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Atlanta Hawks are “highly likely” to trade Trae Young in the summer. 

The Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs will pursue a Young trade. 

Trae Young is “highly likely” to be traded this offseason, per @KevinOConnorNBA (https://t.co/UdmPboRnRQ).

The Lakers and Spurs would be considered the top teams to potentially acquire Young. pic.twitter.com/ZU8GPP3O1B

— Evan Sidery (@esidery) February 16, 2024

Young signed a five-year, $215 million extension with the Hawks in August 2021. He’ll make $43 million next season and $45 million in 2025-26.

Young is averaging 26.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.2 blocks this season while shooting 42.7% from the floor, 37.1% from beyond the arc and 85.8% from the free-throw line. He has 35 double-doubles in 50 games.

Young doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. The three-time All-Star holds career averages of 25.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.2 blocks. He’s one of the top offensive point guards in the NBA but a below-average defender. 

According to Howard Beck of The Ringer, the Hawks discussed a Young trade with the Spurs before this year’s trade deadline. Some people around the NBA believe Young wants to play with Victor Wembanyama.

The Lakers will be heavily linked to Young since the Texas native has the same agent (Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group) as LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Young attended two Lakers playoff games last year. 

The 25-year-old Young is 10th in the NBA in total points, 11th in points per game, first in total assists and second in assists per game this season. It will be fascinating to see where he’s playing in 2024-25. 

The Dallas Mavericks drafted Young with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft and traded him to the Hawks for Luka Doncic. Even though Young is a gifted player, several scouts believe the Hawks made a massive mistake trading him for Doncic, who is on pace to become one of the greatest players in NBA history.