NBA Analyst Makes the Case For the Hawks to Keep and not Trade Trae Young

The Hawks traded away Dejounte Murray this offseason and kept Young

Apr 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Javonte Green (24) defends Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the second half during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images

I have not put a lot of stock into Trae Young trade rumors this offseason, but the talk about the possibility has persisted around the league even though the Hawks traded away Dejounte Murray earlier in the offseason. There has been talk of Young's value being low around the league, but I don't think the Hawks should be trying to trade one of the best players in franchise history who is also one of the best offensive players in the league. The roster construction around him has been poor, but you could argue that has changed this offseason. I won't lie and tell you the Hawks are title contenders, but this is a roster that makes sense around Young and I don't think that is talked about enough.

When writing about whether certain teams should keep or trade away their star players, Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus says the Hawks should keep Young, but for different reasons than what I think:

"The Hawks are three years, two first-round exits and a play-in tournament loss removed from their eye-opening run to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. That's, admittedly, quite the case for making wholesale changes to this roster, a process that's already underway with this summer's subtraction of Dejounte Murray.

Trae Young's name was mentioned in trade talks well ahead of this shift. It continues rumbling around the rumor mill, though recent talks largely center around what, if any, market exists for his services.

He is a complicated player to build around. While he routinely stuffs the stat sheet with some of the league's best scoring and assist averages, he isn't as efficient on offense (career 43.6/35.5/87.3 shooting slash, 4.2 turnovers per outing) as you'd like for someone with his glaring defensive deficiencies and ball-dominance. As loud as his numbers can be, his actual impact on winning is debatable.

His max contract, which could be extended after this season, means teams pay a premium for that offensive production without getting any kind of discount for his shortcomings. It isn't shocking to hear crickets on his trade market, especially as Atlanta works to dismantle a roster that was tailored to give Young his best shot at success.

This apparent lack of interest should be all the Hawks need to hear, though, to know this isn't the time to move Young. They might be lucky to get 25 cents on the dollar in a deal, and then their inevitable sink down the standings wouldn't even include the normal lottery-odds perks, since the San Antonio Spurs control the Hawks' next three first-round picks.

Subtracting Young just for the sake of doing it wouldn't accomplish much for Atlanta. Meanwhile, keeping him around would allow coach Quin Snyder the chance to reshuffle the deck in hopes of finding a more beneficial backcourt mate than Murray proved to be. Plus, incoming No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher has plenty to gain from Young's playmaking and gravitational pull on opposing defenders.

If Atlanta keeps treading water, there will be a time when it makes sense to move Young. This is not it."

While it feels like the discussion around Young centers around how the Hawks can't win with him, I don't think they are focused enough on what the Hawks have done this offseason to construct a roster around him. While there are unknowns with guys like Daniels and Risacher, there is considerable upside with them as well.

On the latest episode of the Lowe Post Podcast, NBA analysts Zach Lowe and Kevin Pelton were discussing the most intriguing players ahead of the season and Pelton named Daniels as one player to watch:

"I think the idelized version of Daniels is a really good fit in Atlanta next to Trae Young. He gives them size in the backcourt and he is terrific defending on the ball if he can shoot and that is the big question mark. He did not make really any progress, was still at 31% last season. He has been working with maybe the best at this point, shot doctor in the league and Fred Vinson with the Pelicans coaching staff. The fact that they were not convinced he could go with shooters may be a little bit of a concern for me and I think that is interesting because guys who get traded on their rookie contracts is valued, like not buy low trade, but he was hypothetically along with the pick they got, part of the value in return for Dejounte Murray. I don't feel like the track record of those guys is that good.

Aaron Nesmith is someone you could say succeeded in this in Indiana. Nickeil Alexander-Walker eventually took a little while. But the last guy who got traded before the last year of a rookie contract who really hit big on his next team I think is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and that is obviously pie in the sky. We are not talking about that with Dyson Daniels. Whereas you can look at RJ Hampton when he was in the Aaron Gordon trade, Romeo Langford, part of the Derrick White trade, Cam Reddish going for a first round pick, Dennis Smith Jr, Landry Shamet. They don't usually turn out that well when the other team is trading you early in your career, it is probably because they know something that the rest of the league does not. I am curious to see how that is going to play out with Dyson Daniels."

I do think it is a big season for Young, but I think he is in a position to succeed and lead the team. As long as Young is the primary creator on offense, the Hawks should have a top offense in the NBA, but it has been the other side of the court that has given them issues. Bringing in Dyson Daniels via the Dejounte Murray trade, drafting Risacher, and hoping that Johnson, Okongwu, Clint Capela, and De'Andre Hunter can continue to defend at an above-average level. If the Hawks can get better on that end, then I think they could be a surprise team in 2024-2025.