Hawks Have 'Green Light' For Trae Young Trade; Mavs Kyrie Irving Backup Plan?

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was a part of some trade speculation over the weekend, but it's his 2018 NBA Draft classmate Trae Young who might be closer to leaving the Atlanta Hawks this offseason.

Dalton Trigg | Apr 10, 2023

In this story:

Dallas Mavericks fans were in a frenzy over the weekend when ESPN reported there is "fear" within the organization that Luka Doncic could potentially ask for a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if "significant progress" isn't made by then.

Despite the Mavs following up their Western Conference Finals season with a 38-44, postseason-less dud, Doncic put some of those concerns at ease by saying, "I'm happy here. There's nothing to worry [about]" in Dallas' exit interviews following a 138-117 blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the season finale.

When it comes to star point guards who might actually be traded in the near future, though, perhaps we should be focused on Doncic's 2018 NBA Draft classmate, Trae Young. According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Conner, the Atlanta Hawks' front office has been given "the green light" to potentially trade Young, who has been unhappy with the franchise all season.

"With the offseason approaching, league sources say the Hawks’ front office has the green light from ownership to do whatever it wants to with the roster, which includes considering trade opportunities involving All-Star point guard Trae Young," O'Conner wrote.

Back in December, when NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Young might consider requesting a trade this summer if the Hawks didn't made a significant postseason run, SportsBetting.ag pegged the Mavs as having the top betting odds to trade for him. Obviously, things have changed since then, as the Mavs traded for Kyrie Irving at this season's deadline.

But ... if Dallas isn't able to execute its self-proclaimed "top priority" this offseason, which is to re-sign Irving, then perhaps there is a scenario out there where Young ends up with his good friend Doncic on the Mavs, and Irving ends up with the contract he desires on the Hawks.

That would be quite the storyline for two star guards who were traded for each other nearly five years ago on draft night.

Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here.

Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitterand Facebook.

Catch up on the latest Mavs Step Back Podcast episodes and be sure to SUBSCRIBE:

Published Apr 10, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.