'Stress' looming on the horizon for Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

With Dejounte Murray gone, the onus is back on Trae Young both literally and figuratively. He will be the key to the Hawks’ offense again, with key contributions expected from Jalen Johnson and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

But questions will also continue about his long-term future in Atlanta. 

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the third panelist on the show, compared Young to Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball.

“You look at Trae Young, all the stuff that's gone on in Atlanta,” Bontemps said on “The Hoop Collective” on August 30. “They trade Dejounte Murray this summer, they've turned over a lot of that roster, they draft Zaccharie Risacher with the first pick, they've hired a new coach the last couple years, they have a new front office. 

“We're kind of at a point where there's either going to be steps towards going in the right direction from a winning standpoint in the places they're at or you're really going to have to start to wonder if both of them are going to be long-term fits where they're at.”

That is when the most potentially alarming part of the conversation came out.

“I don't know if the Hawks would ever say this publicly. But I think they knew that they had to break up Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, and the player that they could trade for value was Dejounte Murray. I'm sure there was lots of different pieces of nuance involved in how they went about that. But I just don't I just – I'm not sure that Trae Young's value is as high as they'd like it to be.”

Murray is starting a four-year, $114 million contract with a $31.6 million player option in 2026-27. He is also taller and less of a target on defense than Young.

Young is in Year 3 of a five-year, $215.1 million contract.

He also has a $43.8 million player option for the final season in 2026-27. More pressing, Young will be extension-eligible after the 2024-25 season. That is where things could get stressful for the Hawks and Young.

“This is a real pivotal year as you say for Tae Young. No. 1, after this season he can extend his contract,” Windhorst said. “First off, we know that he's on the ‘Fun Max [contract].’ We know the next contract is ‘Stress Max’ time. It's been dubbed the ‘Stress Max’ because it affects both sides. Sometimes it's the stress on the team whether they can get the player to sign, and sometimes it's stress on the player about whether he can get that second max.

“In this environment under the new rules where you've got to watch the dollars being spent, especially when you get to the 30% part of the 30% max. Trae is going to have to have a big year, even if it's to stay in Atlanta and sign a max. And then it's, ‘Is it going to be in Atlanta? Is that where they're going to be?’” 

Young has made it clear on several occasions and in various ways that he wants to remain in Atlanta with the Hawks. 

He has also made it clear that he wants to win.

The Hawks – who have a 183-224 record all-time with Young in the lineup – must determine if they are equipped to do that. Their decision could be made for them early in the 2024-25 season, especially if the new-look, Young-centric starting five fails to take.

“He has continued to have good seasons, he's developed into one of the best playmaking point guards in the league, averaged 11 assists last year, is setting records – various records for his point-assist double-double that he has – made the All-Star team last season, but has not translated into the type of player that can elevate his team, you know I mean? 

“Right now, if you said, ‘What kind of player is Trae Young?’ I think a fair way to say it is, ‘He is a incredibly talented offensive player who's very limited defensively. Who is, if he's your best player, you're a Play-In team. That's what the Hawks have been. Now, I know that a couple years ago they did make the Conference Finals, and that's what a Trae Young defender would say. But I'm not sure that that is not really more the outlier than the rule.”