The Atlanta Hawks made it to the play-in tournament this season but were quickly dispatched by the Chicago Bulls. But because of how the NBA draft lottery works, they still ended up with the No. 1 overall pick — and now the Trae Young trade rumors are swirling. So will Trae Young get traded, and what trade destinations are possible for him?
The below Trae Young trade rumors were last updated May 14, 2024.
Per Yahoo Sports’ Senior NBA Reporter Jake Fischer, rival NBA executives expect Atlanta will explore its options with Young this summer. Young is signed to a five-year, $215 million contract with the Hawks with an early termination option at the end of the 2026-27 season. He isn’t scheduled to become a free agent until after 2027-28.
Young signed his contract in August 2021, following Atlanta’s surprising 2020-21 campaign that saw them reach the Eastern Conference Finals to the Milwaukee Bucks. Young averaged 25.3 points, 9.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game that regular season on shooting splits of 44/34/89.
The Hawks have yet to make a playoff run since then. Young’s production has also fallen off. Although he put together an All-NBA season in 2021-22, averaging 28.4 points, 9.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds on splits of 46/38/90, his 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns were quite forgettable. He averaged 26.2, 10.2 and three in the former campaign on 43/34/89. This year, he averaged 25.7, 10.8 2.8 on 43/37/86.
Defense was always a liability for Young, but turnovers have become an increasingly big one of late. Young averaged just four of them per game in his All-NBA campaign but averaged 4.1 and 4.4 in the seasons hence.
So where will Trae Young end up? Let’s dive into what he adds to a team — and what he necessarily subtracts. Only a few teams can fit his contract on their payrolls, and that also constraints the returns the Hawks can get for him. Now let’s dive into the trade rumors.
Trae Young Trade Rumors & Destinations: Where Will He End Up?
Will Trae Young Head to the Los Angeles Lakers?
Before Fischer’s report, the Los Angeles Lakers had already been linked to Trae Young. Now that the season is over, the Lakers now have three trade-eligible first-round picks, which could be enough for them to acquire the 25-year-old guard.
Rumors are flying about the Hawks having “serious interest” in Young. Apparently, the Lakers explored a deal for Dejounte Murray at the deadline but couldn’t agree on terms. Although that interest could’ve been tied to Murray, it’s likelier that the Lakers just want a young guard.
Further, the Hawks likely want to break up the tandem of Young and Murray because it’s just not working. This season, the duo of Young and Murray recorded a brutal -6.5 net rating in almost 1,200 minutes, largely due to an impotent 121.3 defensive rating.
Young makes sense for the Lakers as they look to get younger with the sun setting on the Hall of Fame career of LeBron James. He is a great facilitation, and getting to work with LeBron James and a handful of strong role players could be the basis of a title contender — but I suspect L.A. will need to find some seriously good role players to make this a viable lineup.
Are the San Antonio Spurs in on Trae Young?
Unlike the Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs apparently had conversations with the Hawks about Young, not Murray, at the trade deadline. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: the Hawks bought Murray from the Spurs, so if San Antonio was in the market for a guard, I doubt they’d be looking to buy back a piece they moved so recently. The previous Murray deal also offers one more piece of insight: Atlanta’s and San Antonio’s front offices have some level of connection.
However, more recent reports suggest that the Spurs are actually more interested in Murray. Per NBC’s Kurt Helin, they don’t view Young as a fit alongside Victor Wembanyama. Instead, they see Chris Paul or Murray as a better partner for the budding superstar.
But NBA Insider Marc Stein reports that the Hawks are more interested in moving Young. “You could also say that there is a growing belief in many corners of the league that Atlanta’s preference would actually be shopping Young,” he said. Murray’s clutch performances down the stretch may explain the change of tone in the Hawks’ front office.
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