When the Atlanta Hawks made their blockbuster trade for Dejounte Murray, the hope was we’d see Trae Young and Co. become top contenders in the Eastern Conference.
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Yet, the Hawks have rarely looked like one of the NBA’s best, being eliminated from the playoffs in the first round of play a year ago, and are now seven games below .500 entering NBA games today.
It’s safe to say the Murray-Young experiment has not gone according to plan, but what’s next for the Hawks? While some believe Murray could be the first to go, more speculation is pointing to Young possibly being shipped out instead.
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Is Trae Young as good as gone from Atlanta Hawks?
Dejounte Murray may have been the name discussed most often ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline, but others around the league could see Trae Young being the player the Atlanta Hawks would rather part with.
“He’s available. I think they would love to trade Trae.”
Unnamed Eastern Conference executive on Trae Young
Another NBA executive even said Atlanta discussed trading the three-time All-Star to the San Antonio Spurs ahead of last week’s deadline, yet obviously, a deal never came to fruition. However, that doesn’t mean this team isn’t set for a reset once the offseason gets underway.
According to Howard Beck of The Ringer, “It’s considered a near certainty that they (Hawks) will part with one, or both (Murray or Young), this summer.”
There’s no doubt Young can provide a scoring spark to any team, but his less-than-ideal size (6-foot-1, 164 pounds) also creates defensive challenges that the Hawks thought they solved by adding a stout defender like Murray in the backcourt. Yet all we’ve seen is more struggles in Atlanta, and now the team may be considering hitting the reset button three years after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.
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