NBA Insider Gives Update on Trae Young's Future After Atlanta Wins The Draft Lottery

Jackson Caudell | May 13, 2024

Apr 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Javonte Green (24) defends Atlanta Hawks / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

This was going to be a big offseason for the Atlanta Hawks, but their plans were altered yesterday when they improbably secured the No. 1 overall pick.

Atlanta had a 3% chance to win the NBA Draft Lottery yesterday, but they finally found some luck in the lottery and have a big opportunity in front of them with the No. 1 pick.

What Atlanta does with the No. 1 overall pick is going to be a huge talking point, but what they do with the backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray is going to remain the biggest point of discussion when talking about the Hawks season. NBA insider Shams Charania spoke about the future of Young and the Hawks on Fanduel TV's Run it Back today:

"For the No. 1 pick, their decision is going to be, do you go big with a guy like Alex Sarr or do you go more on the guard front, there are a few options there as well. The elephant in the room of course is going to be what is the future of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Trae Young has said it publicly and privately that he wants to win and he is going to be entering the back half, of entering closer to year 10 of his career than he just started. It is crazy, we think of Trae Young being so young, but he is at a stage where he wants to win.

You see players like Tyrese Haliburton, De'Aaron Fox, Luka Doncic, continually competing and making more and more names for themselves, winning more and season games, and if Trae Young does not see or feel like the Hawks are constructing a winner or a team that really has a chance in the Eastern Conference, you see teams like New York, you see teams like Indiana making runs to the second round, to the conference finals, Trae Young surely feels like the Hawks should be in that position.

They are going to have real conversations if he believes that they are not trying to construct a true winner around him and that dialogue and those talks are going to happen this week at the combine, next week and the weeks to come leading up to the NBA Draft. Clearly, that pairing between Trae Young and Dejounte Murray has not worked. They have already looked into moving Dejounte Murray and kept him at the trade deadline. Which guard do they end up looking down that path and I think that is going to be the big question for the Hawks leading up to the draft."

Here is the full clip:

https://t.co/ULkWdghdwk pic.twitter.com/3MKGQQ6bR2

— Jon⚡️ (@JonHoopz) May 13, 2024

I think it would be a mistake for the Hawks to trade Young (unless he requests one), but it does at least seem possible that it happens. I think the path the Hawks should take would be to trade Murray and others and look at surrounding Young with more defense and size, which winning the No. 1 pick allows you to do by taking Alex Sarr. Atlanta could offer Murray and another player for a guy like Brandon Ingram, allowing Young to have multiple athletic wings surrounding him.

During his exit interview after the loss to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament, Young reiterated that he wants to remain in Atlanta and that he wants to win championships:

"Every year teams are different, obviously, I want to be here, but I want to win. I want to be here and I want to win championships here and do that, but I want to win, I mean, that is pretty much all it is for me, that is my motto and that has been me from the beginning."

When asked if he thought he could win with the Hawks or if it was with someone else, this was Young's response:

"I believe it can be here, we just have to make it happen."

Young also went on to talk about how he does not need to be the best player in Atlanta and how people have that misconception about him:

“People don’t understand like I don’t mind… people might think that I have to be the best player on a team, I’m not that way and I have never been that way”

Loved this answer from Trae Young in today’s exit interviews:

“People don’t understand like I don’t mind… people might think that I have to be the best player on a team, I’m not that way and I have never been that way” pic.twitter.com/OHXsT4cFkI

— jackson caudell (@jacksoncaudell) April 19, 2024

The Hawks have a chance to set their team up for a big run of success after winning the lottery yesterday. The front office is going to have a lot of decisions to make concerning Young, Murray, and what to do with the No. 1 pick and they need to make sure they get it right.