The Atlanta Hawks have a vision for their two young forwards, Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher. Johnson is out for the season with a torn labrum, but the plan seems sound given what the two youngsters have shown.
Where does that leave Trae Young, though? He has not pushed for a trade and is bought in.
However, Young is a four-time All-Star and will be extension-eligible this offseason. He also has a $49 million player option for the final year of his $215.1 million contract in 2026-27.
“The question on the mind of executives around the league is whether or not Atlanta will commit a long-term extension to Young this summer or look to move him before having to pay him more money,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto wrote on March 3.
“Conversely, Young has talked about winning a championship with coach Quin Snyder in Atlanta. With Atlanta four years removed from the Conference Finals and declining in the playoffs since, will Young continue to believe that’s possible in Atlanta as he enters the prime of his career, or would a change of scenery be necessary to chase a title?”
As it stands, the Hawks’ vision seems to extend well beyond that.
Hawks’ ideal offseason counterintuitive to success
It is unclear how much they view Young as a part of that future in light of a report about the front office’s plans.
It is not new or surprising but could have significant ripple effects
“Atlanta is ideally not looking to go over the luxury tax threshold next season, HoopsHype has learned, which will play a role in the team’s roster construction this summer and the futures of those veterans,” Scotto wrote.
“How this all affects Young’s future remains to be seen, but it’s a situation that executives will continue to monitor in the coming months.”
According to Spotrac, 11 teams are over the luxury tax threshold as of March 4.
There is a difference in the field that seemingly challenges the conventional wisdom about winning and spending in the NBA. Four of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference are into the luxury tax.
The remaining playoff and Play-In Tournament field in the conference is below, even if only slightly, including the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
Only one team in Nos. 5 through 10 seed is in the tax; the Miami Heat.
They could emerge on the other side of that in short order following the Jimmy Butler trade at this year’s deadline. So the true takeaway could be that save for rare occurrences like the Cavaliers, teams must still pay for a consistent contender.
That still leaves the “chicken or the egg” question. But the Western Conference standings feature three tax teams in its top six and five in the postseason field.
Still, the teams with the best records in each conference are non-tax teams.
Both the Cavs and Thunder feature rosters with a dynamic star guard and a diverse supporting cast, a formula that should sound familiar to Hawks fans. There are obvious differences in each situation.
The similarities cannot be ignored, though. Not when the NBA’s CBA is more punitive taxpayers, incentivizing teams that already operate as the Hawks do financially.
Still, where does that leave Young in the Hawks’ grand scheme?