Hawks heading for “inevitable decision point” with Trae Young?

The Hawks are building around Trae Young after the Dejounte Murray trade, but it may be a situation that is heading for an inevitable split.

Young, for the first time in his career, acknowledged the possibility of playing elsewhere. When asked, the Hawks star point guard would always say he wants to be in Atlanta and win a championship, but for the first time, there was a “but” in his answer.

Trae Young is smack dab in the middle of his prime, but this roster isn’t ready to compete. Young is the elder statesman in Atlanta, surrounded by youngsters who haven’t even sniffed their ceiling. The timelines may not line up if he’s wanting to compete for championships.

As ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote, the Hawks may be heading for an inevitable decision point.

“The development-based path out of the middle might be too slow for Young. The more aggressive one — trading 2029 and 2031 first-round picks for vets — might be too much, too soon. The Hawks might be heading for an inevitable decision point with Young.”

The hope is that Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher come along quickly enough to convince Trae Young to sign another contract extension after his current deal runs out. To not acknowledge the elephant in the room would be foolish. The Hawks don’t want to trade him, but they may be forced to. If Young isn’t satisfied with the front office’s approach and ownership’s financial support, he deserves the right to go play somewhere that can put a championship-caliber team around him.

Hopefully, that doesn’t come to fruition, and the Hawks young talent realizes their full potential and ownership puts its money where its mouth is.

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Photographer: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire