Hawks' Trae Young 'would be open' to playing with Spurs' Victor Wembanyama: Report

Amid all of the trade rumors swirling around the Atlanta Hawks potentially trade Dejounte Murray, and soon, lost in the mix is the possibility that Trae Young could be one moved.

The organization is said to prefer building around Young and emerging star Jalen Johnson, per Marc Stein of the Stein Line. But that is not quite being off-limits in a trade as much as it would require the right amount of assets.

Matt Moore of Action Network presented one scenario that would be more than mildly surprising: Young going to San Antonio to play with Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs have exploratory interest in re-acquiring Murray, per Shams Charania of The Athletic on January 10.

“There are indications Murray doesn't have significant interest in returning to the Spurs,” Moore wrote on January 10. “A more interesting question is if the Spurs and Hawks would have interest in a deal for Young. League sources have suggested that Young's camp would be open … to pairing Young with Victor Wembanyama.”

Moore adds that the “significant clause” in that scenario is “if” the Hawks trade Young at all.

Again, that remains within the realm of possibilities. But even Moore notes that the “most likely” outcome is the Hawks doing as Stein suggested and build around Young.

And Young has only spoken about winning championships with the Hawks.

Still, this comes on the heels of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski’s message on Threads that the Hawks are “open to ALMOST anything” ahead of the trade deadline. This would certainly seem to fall on the more extreme and unlikely end of that sliding scale.

Samson Folk of Raptors Republic relayed a similar issue regarding Murray and a potential trade that would have sent the one-time All-Star to Toronto for Pascal Siakam.

Charania noted the Hawks are expected to ramp up their efforts to move Murray, though he did note they don’t feel they have to make a move in-season. But Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report said he expects Murray to be traded by the February 8 deadline.

That it could be Young on the move would be nothing short of shocking given all the chatter.

Hawks’ Trae Young has been complimentary of Spurs’ Victor Wembayama

Young has spoken highly of the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, even before the latter stepped foot onto an NBA floor.

“7’5 is really OD.. lol,” Young said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on June 22 during the annual selection cycle. “You gotta be happy for this Kid, he gonna be special ! Look forward to competing Killa.”

He sent another message following Wembanyama’s career-high 38 points in a win over the Phoenix Suns.

“Wemby is special man,” Young exclaimed on X on November 2.

Wembanyama stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, two assists, and two steals in the Spurs loss to the Hawks on November 30. The big man’s feats have also seemingly been stunted by inconsistent point guard play.

Young would certainly remedy that. But the possibility still seems far-fetched, hence the emphasis on Stein and Moore’s reporting on the Hawks’ preference and most likely path, respectively. And a trade sending Wembanyama to Atlanta is even more far-fetched for myriad reasons.

This does illustrate how uncertain the Hawks’ future appears to be around the league, though, even as they come off their third win in their last five outings. 

They aren’t fully healthy either.

De’Andre Hunter is still sidelined and Clint Capela missed the last game, which snapped a two-game skid. Even with that win, they are 15-21, leaving ample runway for trade rumors to take off.