Trade Proposal Sends Trae Young To Lakers, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura To Hawks

One NBA writer proposed that the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers make a trade with each other this offseason. 

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea between the Hawks and Lakers:

The Deal: Trae Young for Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, a 2029 first-round pick, a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2031 first-round pick

According to NBA insider Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the Hawks are expected to trade Young this summer. The Lakers are believed to be one of the teams with serious interest in acquiring Young, who has the same agent (Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group) as LeBron James and Anthony Davis. 

“It’s not hard to see why L.A. would be interested,” Bailey wrote. “Since Young’s second season, the Atlanta Hawks have always had a good-to-great offense when him on the floor. He’s one of the best pick-and-roll engines in the league, and the lob threat in actions with him and AD would be a nightmare to defend.

“Presumably, that two-man game could be the foundation of something that would last beyond LeBron’s retirement. And if there’s a defensive anchor who might be able to mitigate some of what Young gives up on defense, it might be Davis.”

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.

One of the best scorers and passers in the NBA, Young averaged 25.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 10.8 assists this season while shooting 43.0% from the field, 37.3% from beyond the arc and 85.5% from the free-throw line. He recorded 37 double-doubles in 54 games. 

“The reasons for Atlanta to do something like this are equally obvious,” Bailey wrote. “The backcourt pairing of Young and Dejounte Murray hasn’t worked. Both are better suited as clear No. 1 ball-handlers, and they’ve yet to find the right balance in a 1A-1B situation. Trading either All-Star almost feels inevitable, and the argument for moving Young is that he’ll almost certainly command the bigger return.

“This deal would help the Hawks recoup some of what they lost in the Murray trade, while also adding a moneyball guard just shy of his prime to start alongside Murray in Reaves. Rui Hachimura would join a platoon of switchable, three-and-D forwards that includes Jalen Johnson and De’Andre Hunter. And Gabe Vincent could be a nice backup for the Murray-Reaves backcourt.”

Reaves averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists this season, while Hachimura averaged 13.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists. 

The Hawks didn’t make the 2024 NBA playoffs.

Meanwhile the Lakers lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets in five games.