Which Atlanta Hawks team will Trae Young play for next?

After achieving the incredible by securing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, one could be forgiven for thinking the Hawks are in good possession. On the other hand, many experts consider the upcoming class to be one of the worst we have seen in many years.

What’s going on with Trae Young?

Last season, the Atlanta Hawks finished 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 36-46 record and thus failed to make the playoffs. While there are many reasons why this was the case, much of the anger from fans and analysts seemed to focus on star point guard Trae Young. Indeed, Young’s market value even became a topic of conversation as many wondered if the 25-year-old was as good as the hype surrounding him.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Young has a max offer. Today, while some may question whether he should be, the reality remains: he is. To that end, a swap would be tricky given the previously mentioned doubts surrounding it, but not impossible. This is where the San Antonio Spurs come in. As one of the teams continually linked to Young, much has been said about the potential coupling of Victor Wembanyama and the leader of the Hawks. Indeed, on paper it makes sense as Wemby would benefit hugely from Young’s play, whilst covering for his defensive fragility.

However, according to a report from Yahoo Sports, the Spurs who currently hold the 4th and 8th picks in the upcoming Draft – a pretty good match for a trade with Atlanta – have indicated that they have “little interest” in doing business with young people. You can see an excerpt from the report below:

“The San Antonio staff would be committing front office malpractice by not considering the opportunity to pair a league leader and big screen maestro like Young to team with Wembanyama. The Spurs have so far approached building around Wembanyama as an intriguing experiment, where they will weigh all sorts of variables around their rookie of the year. However, according to several figures around the league with knowledge of the situation, the Spurs’ plans to maneuver to bring Young to San Antonio have been greatly exaggerated. The Spurs, according to sources, have expressed little interest in obtaining Young to date.

So where does Trae Young end up?

Even though we knew this before, Yahoo’s report goes on to claim that the Lakers still have Young in their sights. It’s worth noting that Los Angeles currently holds three trade-eligible first-round picks, which would again be a good match for the Hawks. On the other hand, there is a real possibility that Brandon Ingram becomes available, as well as Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell whose future is now uncertain after the Cavs were eliminated from the playoffs. If that proves to be the case for either, expect Young to fall down the pecking order.

As stated previously, the situation is complicated. As the Hawks’ best player, Young should, in theory, get a decent return. The problem is that he’s been in that status for a while and, frankly, there’s nothing to show for it. Aside from the Hawks’ run to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, the team and Young haven’t done much to indicate they are on the rise. Consider for a moment that the Hawks finished the most recent season with a losing record and have made the Play-In tournament for the last two consecutive seasons.

Ultimately, Young’s numbers are unlikely to decline, but he continues to be weak on defense and has often been described as difficult to play against. While he controls the ball well, he does little when he doesn’t have it and hasn’t been able to really get out of the arc. With all this in mind, we must ask ourselves a simple question: Can Trae Young lead a team to a championship? Logic would suggest the answer is no, which is precisely why him being paid as if he could is problematic. Frankly, that’s probably why the Spurs aren’t interested.