Don't Put Much Stock Into Trae Young Trade Rumors

Young has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate this offseason

Ever since entering the NBA, Trae Young has been one of the most criticized and scrutinized players in the league. Some of that has to do with the draft night trade with the Dallas Mavericks that ended up sending Luka Doncic to Dallas and Young to Atlanta, and some of it has to do with his defense (which has gotten a lot better this year). Doncic has grown into a perennial MVP candidate (never mind that he and Young both have one conference finals appearance each) and Young has not won a playoff series since making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

While Young is usually on the unfair end of a lot of criticism, he is now a part of something new: trade rumors. 

This season, the Hawks were the team that was most talked about in terms of trade rumors and most of the rumors were around guard Dejounte Murray, who seemed like he was going to be on the way out a month ago. Atlanta decided to keep Murray and the team together, whether it was because they did not get any deals they liked or because they wanted to see how this team finished is not known, but Atlanta opted to make no moves after months of speculation. 

Despite the deadline passing, that has not stopped people from wanting to talk about what the Hawks might do this summer and that has now turned into whether or not the Hawks will trade Young. 

Hawks point guard Trae Young vs the Clippers / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

There has been speculation since last Thursday if Young would be traded this summer, but it is mostly coming from other front offices. There have been a number of reports listing "rival executives believe Young could be traded", but not from anyone else. I do believe that those rival executives and other front offices wish Young was available, but there has been nothing to suggest he actually is.

This report from Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer came out last Thursday night after the Trade Deadline: 

"The Lakers certainly won’t limit their thinking to Murray. There are several front offices that listened to Atlanta’s pre-deadline chatter and came away from conversations with the Hawks of the belief Trae Young could become available for trade this summer — depending on Atlanta’s outcome for the remainder of this campaign. That could very well prove to be wishful thinking from rival teams, just like league personnel will hope and pray that Joel Embiid becomes available in Philadelphia, or Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes available in Milwaukee, and so on. But for now, one spot other than Los Angeles that’s repeatedly been mentioned by NBA figures as a potential home for Young — if Atlanta were to ever consider parting with its franchise face and All-Star lead ball-handler — is San Antonio. The Spurs do lack a clear-cut pick-and-roll partner for rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama."

This came out today from Marc Stein, a longtime NBA insider: 

"The decision to keep Murray, however, certainly has more than a few front offices out there believing that the Hawks could reach the point—provided this season doesn't end well—that they entertain the most dramatic possible reset,"

"Perhaps the more significant reason why Trae Trade Talk has a more tangible feel than ever before: There appears to be a true market forming for Young for really the first time in his six seasons as a Hawk."

"I can tell you this much: They've certainly convinced various rival teams that a Dejounte In/Trae Out course is going to be legitimately considered."

Hawks vs Bulls: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups

Again, all of this stuff is coming from rival executives and what they "believe". 

While rival teams might wish for the Hawks to trade Young, I think he is a player to try and figure out how to build around and the Hawks might already have a couple of those pieces on the roster. Jalen Johnson has broken out this year and is the perfect complement to Young. He is only going to continue to get better. Onyeka Okongwu is the other guy that is worth keeping around and giving a starting spot to full-time. He has excelled since taking over with Clint Capela being injured and has a skill set that complements Young very well. Atlanta needs to figure out how to surround Young, Johnson, and Okongwu with the right talent. 

Young has an unbelievable talent on offense and is one of the five best offensive players in the NBA. This season, he is showing glimpses of what he can do on defense, being among the top in the NBA among steals and drawing timely charges in crunch time. Is Young ever going to make an All-Defensive team or win Defensive Player of the Year? Certainly not. But the fact he is making actual improvements (which goes largely unnoticed by most who don't cover the Hawks) is a sign that he is not the worst defensive player in the league like many seem to think. 

Young is also still a very young player (no pun intended) whose skill set is irreplaceable. He is arguably the best passer in the league and one of its best scorers. He makes everyone around him better and is loved in the city. He is the closest player to a superstar that the franchise has had since Dominique Wilkins and I think it would be foolish of the Hawks to even consider trading him at his age unless he demanded out and refused to play for the franchise anymore, which there has been absolutely no sign of that. 

He has shown he can be a clutch player in the playoffs as well. Aside from that series against the Miami Heat two seasons ago, Young has not had a bad playoff series. If he does not get hurt against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020-2021, the Hawks might win that series and even win the Finals. The only reason the Hawks had a chance of forcing a game seven against the Boston Celtics last season was because of Young. The argument of him not having the right kind of game for the playoffs is silly. 

Hawks Point Guard Trae Young / Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports

What should be getting more attention is how poorly of a team this front office has constructed around Young. Dejounte Murray is a good player, but the Hawks overpaid for him, he is not a good fit long-term besides Young, and now are looking at possibly trading him. The Hawks should have looked at trading Clint Capela either last summer or the summer before and moving forward with Okongwu as the starting center. Instead, the gave Capela an extension and they are paying two centers. De'Andre Hunter was given an extension as well and while he has moments when he looks capable of being a starter, he is often injured and has not developed into the kind of player the Hawks envisioned when trading up to get him in 2019. 

The Hawks have problems they need to figure out. I don't think any of those problems are going to be fixed by trading Young and I think there should not be any stock put into rumors from rival front offices and others who wish to see Young traded from Atlanta. 

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