The positivity is flowing around the Atlanta Hawks after a strong early offseason showing from general manager Onsi Saleh, whose next order of in-house business involves four-time All-Star, Trae Young.
ESPN’s Chris Herring praised the Hawks for acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Boston Celtics, a move the analyst described as “one enormous step in the right direction.”
Their next move is actually “twofold.”
“Try to extend four-time All-Star Trae Young on a less-than-max deal,” Herring wrote on June 29, before moving on to the second act. “Land a solid veteran backup for the floor general to bolster a rotation that should feel good about its chances to make noise in a wide-open, injury-plagued East.”
Herring points to the Hawks’ four straight trips to the Play-In Tournament as a factor that could make such an offer “reasonable.”
However, it is also an undoubtedly risky play.
“I can picture Trae Young and his people saying, ‘Hey, look. There could be more teams with cap space in 2026. It’s a dangerous game you’re playing.’ And there could be more teams with cap space. We also don’t know. Any projection of cap space now is only half useful for the summer of 2026,” Zach Lowe said on “The Zach Lowe Show” on June 9. “But they’re going to go in there and say, ‘It’s a dangerous game. You’re going to piss off your franchise guy.”
Hawks offering Trae Young below max deal could be bad news
Young is eligible for a four-year, $229 million extension, but even former Brooklyn Nets executive Bobby Marks, now an analyst for ESPN, was of the mindset that the Hawks should offer less than that for the 2024-25 assists champion.
Marks argued that, “on the surface,” Young was deserving of landing the maximum dollar amount for which he is eligible.
However, the devil lies in the details.
“The counterargument to a new contract is pinned to roster construction and comfort level to committing long term to Young,” Marks wrote on June 3. “Young shot a career low 53% at the rim and had the second-worst effective field goal percentage of his career. He also led the league in turnovers with 355.”
Marks suggested a three-year, $120 million deal, roughly $17 million less annually than Young could receive on a max deal. Lowe, who argued against the max, suggested $165 million over four years, still $16 million below Young’s top dollar amount.
Young has spoken about understanding where the Hawks are in their roster-building process, which is notable in light of his years of pushing to compete deep into the playoffs.
That desire is still there, though, and Saleh said he is in lockstep with Young.
So, the biggest question both sides must answer is whether they believe they are close enough to contending well into the postseason or not. The Hawks’ decision to pass on taking a guard with their first-round pick, before or after the trade, is a strong early indication.