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3 Trades the Los Angeles Lakers could offer the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young

By Joshua Buckhalter

Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

What would it take for the Atlanta Hawks to trade Trae Young?

The Los Angeles Lakers have asked themselves some variation of that question, according to a report from Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Short of an outright demand from the two-time All-Star, an over-the-top offer might be the expectation given his draft pedigree, accomplishments, and monster salary. But, if it would take all that, why would Hawks leadership trade him away?

Seemingly innocuous comments from Atlanta Hawks ownership regarding control of the roster have taken on a life of their own. Governor Tony Ressler said that the front office of general manager Landry Fields and assistant general manager Kyler Korver would have full control over the roster which, of course, includes Young.

There is also a belief that head coach Quin Snyder will have a significant say over personnel and, as Young’s third head coach in what will be six seasons, the onus could be on the player.

So, what could the Lakers reasonably (and perhaps even unreasonably) cobble together?

The Atlanta Hawks could target Lakers’ Anthony Davis in Trae Young trade

This is the cleanest of all the possible outcomes, if not the most unlikely. A 1-for-1 swap would make life easy for the people in charge of making these kinds of things work and Young and Anthony Davis’ salaries are within $600,000 of one another.

Davis, 30, just had a solid defensive performance in the postseason, averaging 3.4 blocks, 1.4 steals, and covering a lot of ground while averaging 22.6 points and 14.1 boards.

Then he and the Lakers ran into two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Jokic did what he wanted to do against Davis head up but the only foes in the same realm Davis would have to face if he were traded to the Hawks and the Eastern Conference would be Giannis Antetkounmpo and Joel Embiid, both of whom are highly capable but don’t match the size, skill, and consistency that Jokic does.

Davis, a former champion is still a better player than any of the Hawks’ current big men whose presence on the roster is just one of the roadblocks that would halt this deal.

The other is Davis’ lengthy injury history which has led to him making no more than 62 appearances in a season since the 2017-18 season.

This would be a very specific move for a need the Hawks don’t have unless they really want Davis, Young wants out, and they move at least one of their incumbent bigs.