Chris Paul's Deal With San Antonio Should Kill Any Trae Young Trade Rumors This Offseason

Chris Paul signed a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs this evening

Mar 31, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul (3) dribbles in front of San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

After the Golden State Warriors waived him early this evening, veteran point guard Chris Paul was a free agent and free to sign where he chose. He did not take long to choose either, signing a one year deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

Free agent guard Chris Paul has agreed on a one-year, $11 million-plus deal with the San Antonio Spurs, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024

This seemed like a logical fit for both sides. The Spurs needed a point guard to help facilitate the offense and pair with Victor Wembanyama and he provides leadership at a low cost. The other thing that this signing should signal is an end to any Trae Young trade rumors this offseason.

Now obviously anything can happen, but it is almost certain that Young will still be leading the franchise he has been leading since 2018. Last week, Yahoo Sports Jake Fischer reported that the Lakers, Spurs, and Pelicans were three teams with appeal to Young. The Hawks traded Dejounte Murray to New Orleans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, and two first-round picks, with the 2025 unprotected pick coming from the Los Angeles Lakers.

With that trade, the Pelicans and Lakers were no longer destinations. The Lakers package for Young was never that appealing from a Hawks perspective and with the 2025 pick coming from Los Angeles, why would the Hawks help them get better?

The Spurs were seemingly the last destination and honestly, the only one that ever made sense in the first place. I never thought that the Hawks were going to trade Young this offseason, but the only situation that made sense was sending him to the Spurs for their own picks back in 2025, 2026, and 2027 and starting a complete rebuild. With the Spurs drafting Stephon Castle with the No. 4 pick and signing Paul, Young no longer makes sense for the Spurs this offseason.

You could get the sense that the Hawks were going to keep Young after they dealt Murray to the Pelicans on Friday. The Hawks got Dyson Daniels back in the deal, a seemingly perfect backcourt complement to Young from a defensive perspective. With Murray gone, there was no way the Hawks were going to start a full rebuild without their own picks, leaving the Spurs as the only viable destination. Now that the Spurs have two new guards, Young should continue to lead the Atlanta Hawks.

The good news for Young is that the Hawks have seemingly had a plan this offseason and they are executing it.

I have said it before, but the Hawks have done a poor job of putting together a capable roster around Young. Young's biggest weakness is obviously his defense and his size and that can make putting a winning team around him a challenge, but it is not impossible.

In the summer of 2022, Atlanta traded for Spurs All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, sending out a ton of future draft capital in the process. Murray was supposed to work next to Young and improve the Hawks's perimeter defense, as well as give Atlanta another playmaking ball-handler.

It is safe to say that that has not been the case since Murray has been in Atlanta. Murray has not been a bad player at all for the Hawks, but he has not been the defensive stalwart they had hoped for when they traded for him. He has been a good player in the locker room and a good leader for the franchise, but the Hawks are going in a different direction, as signaled by this trade. 

It was becoming increasingly clear that the Hawks roster was not built to win around Trae Young and that they were going to have to make adjustments. It was a goal from Atlanta this offseason to get better on defense, get more size, and have better point-of-attack defenders and so far, they are doing that.

While this trade might not have a big name in return to Atalnta, I think there are some useful pieces that help them get closer to accomplishing their goal. The best part of the return from New Orleans in my opinion was Daniels, who is a young player, but possesses the kind of size and athleticism that Atlanta has been looking for to help their defense.

Our very own Rohan Raman broke down Daniel's potential fit with the Hawks:

"I am most excited for what Dyson Daniels can bring to this lineup. He is a 6'7 second-year guard with a 6'10 wingspan, which he uses exceptionally well as a defender. He was 13th among all NBA defenders in steals, recording 1.4 per game, and can guard on the perimeter. I'm especially high on his fit next to Young as Young's improvements in defensive effort often go unnoticed due to his physical limitations. Now, Young has a backcourt partner who can cover for some of those defensive breakdowns. He also processes the game quickly and makes nice passes. Daniels does need to improve his shooting (only shooting 31% from beyond the arc on limited volume), but he is young and can easily grow into becoming a better shooter. I would wager that he will have an easier time growing into that in Atlanta since Young will demand so much defensive attention, forcing shooters to sag off of Daniels."

Daniels is not the only player that the Hawks have added so far this offseason that helps them reach these goals. The Hawks spent the No. 1 overall pick on Zaccharie Risacher in the NBA Draft and on draft night, Hawks general manager Landry Fields spoke about his defense and shooting as big reasons why the Hawks chose him:

"Well, you start by what you see and that is he is 6'10 and got the ability to play on both sides of the ball, has the ability to defend, a versatile defender, a really good shooter, and a high IQ type of player. You know, the amount of development that he has had up until this point is fantastic, he is still only 19, he will be 19 all of next year and I have consistently said all of the important qualities for us in the past, about those types of players and who we want in the building at the end of the day and he possesses a significant amount of those"

Risacher is a 6'8, 204 LBS wing player who fills a big need for Atlanta. He has two-way versatility and performed well in his league playoffs since the lottery. He is a plug-and-play type of forward that would fit on the Hawks as either their starting 2 or 3.

Does that mean that the Hawks are done adding to the team? No it does not. It would surprise nobody if they moved on from Clint Capela and De'Andre Hunter either. If they move Capela, that would open the door for Onyeka Okongwu to start at center and have Nance back him up. Daniels could either start next to Young or come off the bench. We will have to wait and see if Risacher cracks the starting lineup immediately.

Atlanta needed to remake their roster around Young and do a better job of putting the proper talent around him to maximize the team. I think they are going in the right direction so far, with work still to be done.