Want to scare an Atlanta Hawks fan at the start of the 2025-26 season? Show them a picture of the team's cap sheet for the following campaign.
So long as he's able to put the shoulder troubles behind him and stay healthy this year, Jalen Johnson's $30 million salary won't feel at all bloated. The organization can remain excited about Zaccharie Risacher ($13.8M team option) and Asa Newell ($3.4M) at their price points, and it certainly doesn't hurt to have Onyeka Okongwu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker locked up at $16.1 million and $14.4 million, respectively. Otherwise, the only pseudo-set-in-stone figures involve Vit Krejci (non-guaranteed $2.7M), N'Faly Dante (non-guaranteed $2.4M), and Mouhamed Gueye ($2.4M team option).
You've probably picked up on the not-so-subtle implication. Trae Young is only now being mentioned for the first time because he could feasibly decline his $49 million player option and hit the open market, ready to take his offensive dynamism to the second organization of his professional career.
The Atlanta Hawks have yet to fully commit (financially) to their best player
Despite dropping some music with a clear subtext about his Atlanta affiliation, Young has yet to find common ground with the Hawks in the ongoing extension talks.
The window to extend him during the offseason has, as expected, closed for good. No max extension emerged, which makes sense for the franchise's ownership given the penal nature of the apron. However, crossing their fingers and hoping they can retain his services at a discounted price tag is a risky proposition.
"I don't know [about] the word disappointment. I mean, maybe, for sure," Young said about his contract status in late September, via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. "For me, I'm so focused. I'm more happy about the team that we got going into this season. I'm blessed, bro. I wasn't stressing about anything. If something happened, it happened. If it didn't, I still got time.
"I'm focused on this team. I'm focused on right now. I got a great team going into the season that you can't say I've had [before]. So I'm even more excited about that. Who knows what the future is for me. But right now I'm here and I'm present like me and Coach [Quin Snyder] have been talking about. I'm ready to go."
None of this is particularly surprising. It's just the nature of contract negotiations in the current era of the Association. But even in a brutal season-opener against the Toronto Raptors, one in which they stayed competitive throughout the first half before the wheels came off in the third quarter, the Hawks' vision for the latest Young-led iteration was clear.
Sure, turnover issues plagued the entire roster, Risacher notwithstanding. The team collectively shot 10-of-35 from three-point territory, a 28.6 percent clip in no way indicative of the level of shooting talent throughout the lineup. The defense decided to stop defensing for long stretches of the proceedings.
But that vision was still on display, even if you had to squint a bit more than expected to see it. General manager Onsi Saleh has built a roster better suited to maximize Young's talents than any he's played on before, including the 2020-21 unit that unexpectedly advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
A healthy Kristaps Porzingis is an ideal pick-and-pop partner. Alexander-Walker should pair with Dyson Daniels to form a ferocious perimeter-defense tandem. Luke Kennard can stroke the rock. Strides are expected from Okongwu, Risacher, and Johnson.
Everyone fits together cohesively — in theory, at least — to finally give Young the dream combination of off-ball gravitational pulls and swarming defensive support he's always needed.
It doesn't make this pickle any better.
It's hard to find a good outcome for the Trae Young contract negotiations
The Hawks' season will follow one of three distinct paths.
Let's say everything fits together in the fashion predicted by so many pundits during the lengthy offseason. The Hawks contend for a top seed in the Eastern Conference behind 30-10 performances from an efficient Young.
That does nothing to make re-signing Young at a lower price point easier. It would validate his top-end skill set and only make him more coveted should he be exposed to the open market.
Perhaps the Hawks assert themselves as a low-level playoff team in the East, failing to capitalize on the myriad injuries plaguing the traditional powers but still making it clear they can at least hang with the big dogs.
That would do little to change league-wide perception of Young and would have an ambiguous effect on his earning potential. Saleh would get more insight into how all the key pieces coalesce, but the wait-and-see approach could backfire.
The third option is one Hawks fans should be reticent to even bring up, but it is a legitimate possibility, especially after the disappointment of the season-opener. If Atlanta crashes and burns, regardless of how well Young plays, the long-term relationship could go south for any number of reasons. Whether he wants a change of scenery or the Hawks are unwilling to open up the coffers for him, it would increase the likelihood of the Oklahoma product plying his trade elsewhere in 2026-27.
So remind me: Which of those hypothetical outcomes, purely from a contractual perspective, is better than just ponying up now (still possible during the season!) and securing the long-term services of a legitimate star in a star-driven league?
We might be waiting on an answer for a while.