Atlanta Hawks Offseason Grades: The Trae Young/Luka Doncic Trade

As part of our offseason coverage, Soaring Down South is ranking each and every offseason transaction the Atlanta Hawks made.

After a slow start, the Atlanta Hawks kicked it into high gear and had one of the most action-packed and interesting offseasons in recent memory. Multiple trades and signings took place even after the NBA Draft, which was even more important for the Hawks in the long-term.

In our ongoing series of offseason reviews, it’s time to grade each move the Hawks made this offseason from draft picks to trades to free agency deals.

Next up: the seismic trade on draft night of the #3 pick for the #5 pick and a Top-5 protected first round pick in 2019.

THE GRADE: C+

Say what you will about Travis Schlenk’s tenure as Atlanta Hawks General Manager, the man knows how to get results, even if those results end up with the Hawks shipping off a generational draft prospect like Luka Doncic.

Overall, this was a value proposition from Schlenk and the Hawks’ brass, though news broke after the move that the front office was split 50/50 on the Doncic vs. Young debate, with Schlenk’s voice carrying the most weight when it came down to making a decision.

Obtaining the future first round pick next year is excellent, though next year’s draft class is regarded as weaker than this year’s.

While Trae Young seems to be a genuinely wonderful person, and he seems terrifically excited to be a member of the Atlanta Hawks organization, passing on Doncic – if he pans out – is one of those moves that can tear apart a franchise (just look at Hawks history after they passed on Pau Gasol in 2001).

Clearly, Schlenk and co. made a judgment call on a player that would attract new fans to the Atlanta Hawks franchise, which had been starved of attention even during the team’s best run in franchise history of 10 straight playoff appearances.

By bring Ice Trae on board, the Hawks have one of the most well-known collegiate players of all time in the fold, which should bring a lot of national coverage to a team that has been starved of attention by the masses since its 60-win season of 2014-15. Though, that national coverage sadly won’t be coming in 2018-19, when the team only has one nationally televised game on the schedule.

At this point, both Doncic and Young are in the same boat: Rookies that have yet to play in an NBA regular season game. That will change soon as they make their first forays into developing their skill set in the league, particularly when they face off against one another in Philips Arena on October 24.

A judgment call is hard to grade, but in terms of the expectations coming in regarding both players, giving up a “sure thing” in Doncic for a “lottery ticket” in Trae Young seems like quite the gamble.

Still, we’re extremely excited to see Trae Young work and we’re not judging Trae’s ability in any way, this grade is simply for the trade itself rather than Trae – who looked quite good in Summer League.

Stay tuned for the next story in our offseason grades series, and always keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all your Atlanta Hawks news.