Hawks fans have to be fed up with all of the chicanery surrounding the alleged trade status of their franchise player.
While Trae Young was certainly expected to sign an extension this offseason - which, of course, didn't end up being in the cards for the superstar - that alone shouldn't have called into question his future with the organization.
A certain degree of speculation still exists about why Trae hasn't put pen to paper on that extension yet, and there appear to be two leading theories about the root of the delay.
First, Trae is up for a supermax extension if he earns All-NBA honors (regardless of team - first, second, or third - all that matters is the general title). This would significantly increase his payday from approximately a 4-year, $229M deal to a 5-year, $345M deal.
If Young is betting on himself - and knowing the star, odds are he is - it would be in his own best interest to be patient with his finances, and reap the rewards of his success later rather than sooner.
However, a second, more grim theory exists: The Hawks simply aren't willing to go all in on Young with the current roster before he proves he can reward the front office's bold moves this offseason with significant production on the court, specifically in the wins column.
This begs the question - if the Hawks are truly not confident in Trae Young being the face of the franchise after this year, have they considered moving on from him now?
The Hawks have never considered trading Trae Young.
The Atlanta Hawks have NEVER considered trading Trae Young, per @BrettSiegelNBA
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 25, 2025
The internal hope is that common ground will be found on a new deal next offseason
(https://t.co/cvtDAj0r9R) pic.twitter.com/v0Jz48d1mq
Regardless of the circumstance behind his lack of an extension (to the present date), Young has apparently never been on the trade block.
This is precisely the piece of news that many Hawks fans have certainly been awaiting for quite some time - while Young's media day was nothing but positive as far as his future with the team, the door remained cracked open as to whether or not Onsi Saleh had considered trading him to go all-in on the apparent youth movement in Atlanta.
Saleh has without a doubt silenced the doubters that would have led fans to believe that he was actively shipping Young. While the season will inevitably have its ups and its downs, Saleh is committed to operating side by side with Ice Trae, braving whatever storms that may come.