The rumors of Trae Young wanting to leave the Atlanta Hawks have been overblown. But that doesn’t mean that teams shouldn’t be paying attention or that the Hawks shouldn’t listen. After all, we have these situations devolve rapidly and the team is left scrambling to make things work in the aftermath.
Again, neither Young nor the Hawks seem ready for a separation.
If cracks in the foundation do begin to show, however, these teams need to be on the phones immediately to try to acquire the talented two-time All-Star.
Clippers could cut try to undercut rival Lakers for Hawks star
The LA Clippers have been linked to James Harden for some time as he plots his exit from the Philadelphia 76ers. But, as has been the case for the Hawks with Toronto Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam, nothing has come to fruition.
Perhaps the Clippers change their aim for a younger – and, certainly at this point, more dynamic – playmaker in Young.
Harden led the NBA in assists per game last season.
But, for the second year in a row, Young led in total assists, one year after also leading the NBA in total points. Young is certainly smaller and more slight of frame than the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Harden. But that has not helped Harden much defensively which would be the most obvious drawback of trading for the smaller Young.
Things could also get trickier than some other potential landing spots when trying to cobble together an acceptable offer.
LA would have to throw in all available trade assets since none will be conveyed before the 2027 draft. From there the question is which direction are the Hawks trying to go in the aftermath of a Young trade.
If Atlanta is looking to reset like their salary-cap mindfulness suggests could be possible, they could opt to go for a package featuring several pieces they could flip in subsequent deals much like the Brooklyn Nets did at the deadline in February. Or, they could try to take advantage of the Clippers’ exorbitant luxury tax bill and go for a bigger fish like Paul George.
A move like this would seem to suggest the Clippers would want to keep George, though, making their offer less appealing if the Hawks seek the same thing.
The Chicago Bulls could look to replace Lonzo Ball with Hawks’ Trae Young
This is an idea that was being floated around amid last season’s turmoil where the Hawks saw former team president Travis Schlenk step down followed by the dismissal of Nate McMillan as head coach.
Chicago is preparing to be without intended starting point guard Lonzo Ball for the entire 2023-24 season, their second consecutive without the $80 million star.
Ball is recovering from a knee injury suffered in January 2022.
The Bulls sat atop the Eastern Conference with him in the lineup and could be desperate with an ever-shrinking window for contention after starting center Nikola Vucevic suggested this could be the core’s final season together. Going all in for Young would certainly be one way to go for the front office.
He wouldn’t replicate Ball’s defensive impact. But the Bulls’ offense would flow more freely than it did far too often last season with Young’s preternatural passing skills controlling the flow of the game.
The Bulls have also been gauging the trade interest in Zach LaVine this offseason, making contact with the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers among others.
LaVine also hails from Washington state just like Dejounte Murray.
This deal doesn’t alter either team’s financial outlook, nor does it hurt their goals of contention. If anything it balances out both rosters, though in that case, it’s fair to wonder if either team would have such an interest considering they built these teams around LaVine and Young, respectively.
Still, Chicago would get its much-needed table-setter while the Hawks get a bonafide scorer in LaVine who has averaged better than 23.0 points per game on at least 56.8% true shooting in each of the last five seasons.
As was the case with LA, the Bulls would need to throw the kitchen sink at the Hawks in terms of draft capital.
They control most of their future picks but they would likely fall toward the end of the first round.
Brooklyn Nets are missing what Hawks star brings after roster re-tool
The Nets were hit with an unsurprising curveball when Kyrie Irving, and then Kevin Durant, demanded a trade ahead of the deadline in February. Both stars had previously made such requests, though the team’s hot season was trending the right way to that point.
Durant went down with a knee injury and Irving soured on contract negotiations leaving Brooklyn to sort things out.
They came back with several intriguing pieces, most notably Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson from the Phoenix Suns in the Durant trade. What they did not address, however, was their need for a playmaking point guard with Spencer Dinwiddie better served as an off-guard and backup ball-handler.
The temptation may be there to pursue Ben Simmons, a one-time Hawks trade target.
But his shooting and health make the smarter play for the Hawks demanding all the draft capital it can – a staple of these scenarios – two players who can help right now in Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale, the latter of whom played for head coach Quin Snyder with the Utah Jazz.
They would also be getting a dynamite scoring prospect in Cam Thomas who strung together three straight 40-point outings last season.
It is harder to argue that this deal keeps the Hawks as competitive as they would be with Young than with some of the other potential deals. They could extract the most actual draft capital from the Nets – in terms of outright draft picks rather than swaps – than any of the previous suggestions.
Philadelphia 76ers could pivot from their polarizing playmaker to the Hawks’
The Sixers’ position has been and remains that they want Harden to return next season as they try to remain competitive in an ever-changing Eastern Conference landscape. They tried to appease him last offseason but that goodwill has worn off as the situation has devolved.
Now, their bigger concern could be the status of star center Joel Embiid, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player.
Embiid has said he will wait out the Sixers’ re-tool, as has guard Tyrese Maxey.
But we have seen similar situations deteriorate before including this offseason where Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard – one of the most loyal players in the league since he entered – finally said enough is enough and demanded a trade with the Hawks division rival, the Miami Heat, his preferred landing spot.
This deal would likely involve a third team with the Hawks receiving different assets. But for clarity’s sake, swapping Harden and Young works financially – a deal for Tobias Harris would have also done the trick.
But Philadelphia has little to include with him to make it worth it for Atlanta.
This is probably the least likely of any deal since the Hawks would be like many other teams around the league in hoping Embiid does grow tired of The Process. It so far has failed to help him reach the Eastern Conference Finals like Young and the Hawks did in the 2020-21 postseason.
It’s even further complicated by Philadelphia’s lack of draft capital which is why a third team that has eyes and a need for Harden would seem more likely if something like this happened.
Again, none of this will happen if Young doesn’t ask for a trade first. The Hawks have not made any moves to suggest they are looking to move on, and Young has spoken glowingly about partnering with Dejounte Murray next season under Quin Snyder.
Young is also under contract through at least the 2025-26 season.
But the Hawks should very well know the makeup of the landscape if they have a pivot anywhere in their list of options.