Trae Young wants to win. He has said as much in no uncertain terms.
Whether or not Young will be able to do that with the Atlanta Hawks remains a source of intrigue around the NBA. The Hawks traded Bogdan Bogdanovic, Cody Zeller, and De'Andre Hunter. In return, they received Bones Hyland, Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, Terance Mann, and draft capital.
That has left this season looking like a dead end with financial and other concerns looming for the mercurial point guard.
“That guy is a fierce competitor. He wants to win. I’m saying, he wants to win,” NBA insider Chris Haynes said on NBA TV’s trade deadline special on February 6. “So the direction of the Hawks is very – I would say very unique considering they know where he stands and what he wants to accomplish.”
Young has made no bones about what he wants to accomplish in his career.
He has All-Star and All-NBA selections. He even led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. But that is not enough for the competitive point guard.
Trae Young wants to win, with or without the Hawks
“Whenever you’re in this position, you never feel like it’s enough,” Trae Young said on the “From the Point” podcast in June 2023. “You always feel like you want more – like there’s more out there. I mean obviously, I haven’t won everything. I haven’t won really anything, to be honest with you.
“In my eyes, if you don’t win the championship, that ain’t enough.”
However, has also drawn a line in the sand saying that he is not trying to wait for the Hawks to reset, which is exactly what it seems they are going for.
“Everybody knows, obviously, I want to be in Atlanta. When I was drafted, that’s where I wanted to spend my whole career. But at the same time, I want to win. So if we’re not on the same page wanting to win now…,” Young said on the “From The Point” podcast in April 2024.
“There’s times teams want to take their time, be slow with winning, their process. It’s just, I’m not there anymore. I want to win, and I’ve always been that way, so. I don’t feel like I have very much time to waste. I just want to continue to play at a high level, and I feel like I can do that: play at a high level and win.”
Young embraced the dour outlook many analysts and other outsiders had for the Hawks.
“I want to get back to where I've been,” Young said on the “Million Dollars Worth of Game” podcast episode that aired in September 2024. “A lot of people look at our roster and don't have a lot of high expectations, so that's sometimes good for a player like me who's been built on beating expectations his whole life. So I'm just ready to play and beat expectations and whatever that ends up being, I'm going to be ready for it and excited for it.”
The loss of Jalen Johnson for the season to a torn labrum most likely changed the math for the Hawks at the deadline.
What comes next will be a topic for the rest of the season.
Young has two years left on his five-year, $215.1 million contract. But he has a $48.9 million player option for the final season. He will be extension-eligible during the 2025 offseason. The Hawks could have to answer plenty of questions about the direction of the franchise before then.