Before the NBA offseason began, many felt the Atlanta Hawks were destined to trade one of Trae Young or Dejounte Murray. Possibly even both.
But then the Hawks won the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, thanks to getting lucky during the Draft Lottery. They then lasered in on selecting Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick. We’ve since seen the Hawks trade Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, and two future first-round picks.
Where does that leave Trae Young? He’s either still the franchise cornerstone or one of the most valuable trade assets on the Hawks. Or is it both?
NBA interest in Trae Young trade ‘as chilly as ever’
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the teams that were expected to be the top suitors for a trade for Young are no longer interested due to various reasons.
“(Trae) Young is potent enough to keep the Hawks around .500, and they don’t have much incentive to tank so long as the Spurs control their first-round picks through 2027 thanks to the original Murray trade. The smoothest way to reclaim those picks is trading Young to the Spurs, but San Antonio has not shown much recent interest in that, sources said. The Spurs understand the potential value of those picks, and they (for now) appear to favor holding them hostage over swapping them back to Atlanta.
The Lakers, too, have shown little recent interest in Young, sources said. That could change if the price drops to L.A.’s liking. But the market for Young is as chilly as it has ever been.”
Zach Lowe on “chilly” Trae Young trade market
After the Spurs drafted Stephon Castle with the fourth overall pick, plus signed Chris Paul, it’s understandable that San Antonio is no longer desperate to find their next star guard.
As for the Lakers, their situation is more complicated. They’re not parting with Anthony Davis, and LeBron James isn’t going anywhere, so do they really have the players that Atlanta would covet? Thanks to Atlanta’s need to remain competitive due to not having their own first-round picks until 2027, they really can’t afford to risk taking a major step backward.
At this point, it really doesn’t make sense to move on from Young unless the Hawks can receive fair value in return. Ideally, that means ending up with a top-30 talent, but those players don’t become available often. In other words, we don’t see Atlanta’s asking price shrinking any time soon.
Related: NBA insider reveals Trae Young’s preferred trade landing spots