Los Angeles Lakers have discussed trading for Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young: Report

It appears that Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young is indeed a wanted man around the NBA.

Per a new report from Jovan Buha of The Athletic (subscription required) on May 23, there have been talks inside the Los Angeles Lakers organization about what a trade package for Young might look like.

As Buha notes, Young was in attendance for the deciding Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals; his second time taking a Lakers playoff game in person this postseason.

Los Angeles was swept out of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets and have a slew of questions to answer about this roster with several key free agents – most notably Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell, both of whom could command enough money to make the Lakers balk, though the former is more likely to return than the latter.

There is also the issue of LeBron James’ postgame comments to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

"Q: When you say you got to think about stuff, what thread should we be pulling on that?A: “If I want to continue to play.”Q: As in next year?A: “Yeah.”Q: You would walk away?A: “I got to think about it.”"

James scored 40 points and came one assist away from a triple-double but is 38 years old and has played the equivalent of roughly 3.5 additional seasons’ worth of playoff games.

He has acknowledged the possibility of offseason surgery to address a lingering foot issue. But the Lakers could also be thinking about both reducing James’ workload when he’s on the court and what life will look like once he is no longer donning the purple and gold.

For what it’s worth, Young was certainly impressed by what James was able to do in the loss.

Young owns a residence in Los Angeles and is represented by Klutch Sports which also represents James and is owned by his childhood friend, Rich Paul. Atlanta’s front office has also been given full control over roster construction.

The 24-year-old two-time total assists leader is heading into the second year of a five-year, $215 million contract coming off averaging a career-high 10.2 assists with 26.2 points last season.

At the same time, Young has always presented a message of dedication to bringing a championship to Atlanta, sentiments his father has also expressed. The (current) face of the Hawks franchise who is said to have ownership’s ear – at the very least they went after Dejounte Murray last offseason in part at Young’s behest – a divorce now seems unlikely.

Almost anything is possible in the NBA and L.A. will always draw stars. Will Young be next?

He did cause a stir on social media after tweeting out a rather ambiguous message during the NBA Draft Lottery.

Trae Young shouts out a pair of Legendary Lakers

Young has been a vocal admirer of the performances that we have come to see this postseason but he was actively appreciating a pair of former Lakers as well.

First, Young took a moment to check the energy on a snarky tweet about Pau Gasol.

Gasol was a six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection who helped bring the Lakers titles Nos. 15 and 16 in their franchise’s history and will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August.

Gasol was a six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection who helped bring the Lakers titles Nos. 15 and 16 in their franchise’s history and will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August.

But Young did not stop there.

He also took a moment to show appreciation for one-time Laker Carmelo Anthony who technically was a member of the Hawks but only for five days in July 2018. While he never got to win a championship, Anthony was a 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBAer, and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.

None of those interactions means anything in either direction about Young’s future. But his future will certainly be a topic of discussion this summer.