Hawks star point guard Trae Young made his highly anticipated return last week, but the results did not exactly inspire confidence that Atlanta is ready to vault toward contention in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks lost both games he appeared in, surrendering an average of 138 points, even if Young was brilliant in his most recent outing, pouring in 35 points and nine assists on just 16 shots with only two turnovers against the Bulls.
The crossroads Atlanta now faces were set in motion when the organization chose not to extend Young during the offseason. As a result, he has the option to become a free agent at season’s end, holding a nearly $50 million player option for the 2026-2027 campaign. That uncertainty is why his name has been everywhere in trade rumors, and those whispers are only going to grow louder as the league inches closer to the February 5 trade deadline.
“There are numerous lead guards who have already been mentioned this winter as, depending on circumstance, potentially available on the trade market,” NBA insider Jake Fischer reports for The Stein Line. “Memphis’ Ja Morant, Atlanta’s Trae Young, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, even the Clippers’ Harden … all are being monitored in various front offices (to use the ever-popular terminology of the season) in case they become truly gettable. The Wolves’ issue, of course, is that they realistically couldn’t get in the hunt for any of them — even if it was confirmed that they want to — without parting with Julius Randle or Naz Reid. Which would seemingly create its own issues.”
The future for Trae Young in Atlanta has never been cloudier. The hope remains that his return, combined with the improved play of Jalen Johnson, could create real problems for the Eastern Conference. But the injury that sidelined Young for more than a month has created a much shorter runway than the Hawks would have liked to evaluate how everything gels together.
Now, with other injuries beginning to pile up, it is becoming increasingly difficult for first-year general manager Onsi Saleh and the rest of the Hawks front office to get a clear picture of the ceiling of this group, which will undoubtedly make the trade deadline even more complicated to navigate.
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