Possible Trade Destinations for Trae Young
Trae Young finds himself embroiled in a rift with Atlanta Hawks Head Coach Nate McMillan after the former chose to sit out a game instead of coming off the bench. Since then, whispers around NBA circles have been suggesting a trade may be on the horizon. While most believe the trade won’t happen during the 2022-2023 season, they also believe Atlanta won’t immediately hang up the phone if offers come in the offseason.
The problem is Young just signed a five-year contract extension with the Hawks- a contract that will run through until 2027 and will earn him 215 million dollars. While he’s still a hugely productive player, his numbers have also taken a dip of late.
In October, his scoring average stood at 29 points on 32.1% three-point shooting. That has since dropped to 27.3 points on 31.6% three-point shooting. In fact, his steals, rebounds, FG%, and 3P% are all currently the lowest of his career, and that includes his rookie campaign as a 20 year old.
He’s still producing great numbers in the first third of the season, some also see him as a defensive liability, while simultaneously being one of the most ball-dominant players.
We’re only 35 games into the Young/Dejounte Murray experiment in Atlanta, but at 17-18 and in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, it’s safe to assume the club was hoping for more of an impact from their blockbuster deal.
Which begs the question: If the Hawks were to move on from Young, which franchises could benefit the most from his skill set?
Houston Rockets
The Rockets are one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Young is one of the younger stars in the NBA and could really kick start the Rockets rebuild efforts in 2023-24.
Moreover, Houston also has the draft capital to offer the Hawks a massive package should the opportunity present itself. Money isn’t a problem for Houston as they’ve got the 8th lowest payroll in the Association, and Eric Gordon’s contract is also in its final year.
If the Rockets were to acquire Trae Young and hope to surround him with a solid supporting cast, it shouldn’t be a problem because of the financial flexibility Houston would have by then.
In all likelihood, Atlanta would want Jalen Green included in the package, however the Rockets have enough picks and prospects that they may be able to circumvent his inclusion if they truly want to hold onto him.
Dallas Mavericks
If this trade were to materialize, it would quickly become one of the more quirky trades in NBA history. During the 2018 NBA Draft, the Mavs initially picked Young as the fifth overall pick but later completed a trade with Atlanta to acquire Luka Doncic.
Right now, the Mavericks are becoming increasingly desperate to get more support for Doncic, who is averaging 33.6 points, 8.8 assists, and 8.7 rebounds per game. The Mavs may have gotten Kemba Walker but he’s more likely to be a bench contributor than someone who can be expected to shoulder an offensive load.
If Trae Young requests a trade in the 2023 offseason, it would be because of his desire to win and also because of his chemistry issues- primarily with McMillan. If he’s moved to play alongside Luka Doncic, it would cause coaches nightmares trying to scheme up ways to stop two of the league’s pre-eminent scorers.
The biggest issue here however is the lack of warm bodies Dallas could ostensibly send to Atlanta in exchange for their disgruntled star.
New York Knicks
Like the Rockets, the Knicks also have sufficient draft capital to go after Trae Young. New York has players like Julius Randle and RJ Barrett that they could include in a potential deal, and it would give the Knicks their first true “star” since Carmelo Anthony.
It would also quickly flip the script on the ongoing Trae Young vs. Madison Square Garden feud that the guard has with Knicks fans at the moment.
New York has been linked to virtually every marquee free agent over the last decade and has failed to land any of them. Donovan Mitchell jerseys were in the process of getting stitched together when news broke that Cleveland had swooped in and acquired the former Jazz guard at the 11th hour.
For a city desperate for a bonafide superstar, acquiring a player of Young’s ilk could be a match made in heaven.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.