Bad habits undermining Trae Young's historic Hawks tenure amid uncertain future

For all of his accolades and historic accomplishments, Trae Young has had a difficult time shaking negative narratives in his Atlanta Hawks career. Among the most prevalent is that Young’s playing style is not conducive to winning; a take that often ignores context to denigrate the historic guard.

However, there are some critical shortcomings that the 26-year-old four-time All-Star has that could weigh more heavily in the front office’s decision-making process. 

Two of them showed up in prevalent ways in the Play-In Tournament loss to the Orlando Magic.

First, Young had several instances in which he appeared to be seeking a foul rather than playing through contact for baskets. Young has been criticized in the past as a poster child for the awkward movements to draw fouls that the league targeted with rules changes.

His actions against the Magic fell well short of that. But Young’s attempts were met by a Magic team that was already stout defensively and Young did not respond well.

Officials gave Orlando (too much of) the benefit of the doubt, and they took advantage.

Ironically, the first item led to the second. Young’s proclivity to engage with the officials does not often end with such dramatics. And the game was out of hand when he got ejected. He has also vowed to avoid reacting in such a fashion moving forward. 

Mistakes happen, especially in a pressure cooker environment, and Young owned up to his actions in the contest. Still, they threaten to do more harm than good. 

Trae Young’s shortcomings flashpoints in historic career

There are many more negative potential outcomes from Young's antics: Technical fouls, fines, suspensions, and a continued unfavorable whistle, just to name a few. There is one true positive: The possibility that future calls break in his favor.

Crew chief James Williams, whose team made a pair of questionable – to say the least – judgement calls in a critical situation, offered comments that make that seem unlikely. 

It is also fair to wonder what lasting impact this could have on Young’s future with the Hawks.

Young is under contract for two more seasons on a five-year, $215.1 million contract. But he is extension-eligible this offseason with a $229 million pact among the potential outcomes on the table.

He also has a player option for the 2026-27 season. That is essentially a soft deadline and comes one year early. 

Young has made it abundantly clear that he wants and plans to remain with the Hawks.

He even went so far as to say he was aware of the trade speculation around him last offseason but was in communication with the front office throughout and knew he would not be leaving Atlanta.

That does not mean the Hawks did not entertain discussions around their star, though. And that is enough that speculation about his future will likely reignite if the Hawks miss the playoffs.

Deadlines often drive decisions in all walks of life.

Another missed playoffs, or maybe even a quick exit from them, could force some more difficult decisions for the Hawks, ranging from Young and the rest of the roster to the coaching staff and even the front office.

It will more likely lead to a reassessment since the Hawks lost Jalen Johnson (and Kobe Bufkin) for the season before Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr. joined them.

Notably, the Hawks were 18-18 with Johnson and 22-24 without him.

That does not account for the fact that the Hawks switched up their bench at the trade deadline, moves that may or may not have been made had Johnson remained healthy. One of the players they acquired at the deadline – Caris LeVert – is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

His situation is just another item for the Hawks to address as they assess their future this offseason, be it with or without Young.