Trae Young embracing negative narrative around new-look Hawks

Trae Young’s future remains the biggest storyline for the Atlanta Hawks.

His name has been a constant in trade speculation, leading to continued scrutiny over what he does and does not bring to the table. Young is a three-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA pick who has led the league in total assists twice and total points once.

Expectations are low for the Hawks’ new-look roster, but Young believes that could be the perfect setup for him to restore his name to a place he believes it belongs: at the top.

“I want to get back to where I've been,” Young said on the “Million Dollars Worth of Game” podcast episode that aired on September 8. “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.”

ESPN projected a 31-win season and another 9-seed for the Hawks in 2024-25.

“The Hawks had a busy summer -- trading away shooting guard Dejounte Murray and drafting Zaccharie Risacher at No. 1 -- but are looking at a fourth straight appearance in the play-in group, according to our panel,” ESPN’s staff wrote in August.

Young is coming off making a career-low 54 appearances in 2023-24, and the Hawks posted a 22-32 record with him in the lineup.

They were notably 38-35 with him in the lineup in 2022-23.

Hawks need re-worked roster to fit around Trae Young

The Hawks could be “stuck” with Young for the next two seasons. He is in Year 3 of a five-year, $215.1 million contract. He also has a $49.6 million player option for the final season in 2026-27, meaning he can become an unrestricted free agent.

Young has not pushed for a change of scenery, but rather a change in trajectory. So far, the peak of his Hawks tenure is the Hawks’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Young previously expressed dissatisfaction with that being his pinnacle so far.

“Whenever you’re in this position, you never feel like it’s enough,” Young said on his “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.

“I’ve gone into the Conference Finals which is cool. But, in my eyes, if you don’t win the championship, that ain’t enough.”

The Hawks’ 36 wins in 2023-24 were the Hawks’ fewest since the 2019-20 season.

That was Young’s second season in the NBA. The Hawks have also suffered back-to-back first-round playoff exits (2021-22 and 2022-23) before missing the postseason entirely in 2023-24 which was also a first since the 2019-20 campaign.

A simplified approach built around Young, an offensive powerhouse who needs shooters and defensive support around him, was certainly the Hawks’ most recent formula for success. 

Whether or not is recipe is the same, and in 2024-25 no less, is the big unknown.