With the offseason coming to a close, contract talks in Atlanta have stalled. Trae Young is prepared to play through the season without an extension, opening the opportunity for the Hawks' star to enter restricted free agency.
While no trade talks have been reported, Sam Vecenie said on his Game Theory Podcast that he thinks there is a real possibility of Young being traded this September. He reasons that All-Star was traded during September in each of the last three seasons, and all of the stars were in similar contract situations to Young. Vecenie says that a team could leak that they would offer Young a max, giving Young an opportunity to request a trade for the guaranteed extension.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Damian Lillard/Jrue Holiday, and Donovan Mitchell were all traded in September of 2024, 2023, 2022, respectively. More intriguing is that Towns, Lillard, and Holiday were all in the first or last year of an extension some would consider an overpay.
Young finds himself in the same situation as these three stars. He has the talent (and leverage, if he opts to use it) to find the four-year, $229 million max extension he is seeking. However, the Hawks clearly don't want to pay Young the max. Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis are each earning $30 million, with Dyson Daniels forecasted to join the $30 million club next season. The organization has calculated that not paying Young the max outweighs the risk of not signing him, at least at this point.
Will Young be the subject of this year's September Blockbuster?
Vecenie posits that a rebuilding team that hasn't found its star yet could sell the house for Young. He gives the Jazz as an example, but Houston executed a similar trade just this offseason. The Suns traded Kevin Durant, who is entering the final year of his contract, for Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks, and the 2025 10th pick. While Young would obviously warrant more draft capital as a player entering his prime, the Durant trade serves as a blueprint for a potential Young trade.
Utah, Brooklyn, San Antonio, Charlotte, Sacramento, and Toronto all have the picks to make a trade for Young, with some very intriguing players potentially being available in a trade. However, any team attempting to deal for Young must acknowledge that Atlanta is looking to win this year, unlike Phoenix. While the Hawks probably won't get a player of Young's caliber in a trade, they could attempt to replace him in the aggregate.
Young has remained true to Atlanta since being drafted in 2018, and his trademark stand-up character has been on full display during these contract negotiations. However, he commented on Micah Parson's twitter, "This why you pay the man early, when someone will take less early to stay in a place he wanted to be forever, you do it… the price only goes up now! Get what you deserve bro!"
Parsons is an edge rusher for the Dallas Cowboys who finds himself in Young's position, just in a different league. Young made his position clear with his tweet, and the Hawks have made theirs clear by not signing him.
In the modern NBA, players of Young's caliber just don't hit free agency. Teams either sign an extension, or they trade the player if they know the two parties cannot reach an agreement. With Young set to enter what could be his final season as a Hawk, don't be surprised if the club starts exploring trade options.