The Atlanta Hawks were very active at the trade deadline, swinging multiple deals for a handful of players. It started when De’Andre Hunter was chipped to the Eastern Conference-leading Cavs, with the Hawks receiving Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and three second-round picks. Then Atlanta used three second-round picks and Bogdan Bogdanovic to land Terrance Mann and Bones Hyland from the Clippers.
Not exactly blockbuster transactions, but the Hawks will look a lot different moving forward, improving their depth most importantly. The loss of De’Andre Hunter stings, who is amid a career year, but this should be a more competitive team down the stretch than the one that has lost nine of their last ten games.
However, without Jalen Johnson, there’s really no hope of the Hawks competing this season. They’ll probably make the play-in and could even sneak their way into the playoffs on the back of Trae Young, but the focus is still on the future, a future that is looking increasingly cloudy because of the uncertainty surrounding the Hawks star point guard.
Trae Young has one year left remaining on his contract before he can opt-out and become a free agent, which he will almost certainly do if he does not sign a contract extension before then. If he decides he’s seen enough at the end of the season, which would be totally understandable, and demands a trade, the Hawks won’t have much of a choice but to oblige.
It’s not what any fans in Atlanta want to hear, but the Trae Young era with the Hawks could be nearing an end, with NBA insider Chris Haynes calling his future with the organization “murky” following the NBA trade deadline.
Trae Young’s future with the Hawks is ‘murky,’ per @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/WACKSK3kZ9
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 6, 2025
Despite the narratives out there that Trae Young is a selfish coach-killing diva, the reality is he’s been nothing but a class act throughout his entire career. He’s been 100% loyal to the Hawks, perhaps even to a fault, showing up and doing his job to the best of his ability without complaining.
However, Young wants to win. It’s the one thing he’s been adamant about since he was drafted. In that area, the Hawks have failed him. They haven’t lived up to their end of the bargain, which has led to a lot of these false narratives surrounding Young that he’s not a winner.
All Trae Young has done since he stepped into the NBA is perform. Whether it’s during the regular season or the playoffs, he’s been elite whenever he’s had the opportunity to play on the biggest stages. If he finally decides he wants to go somewhere where he will have a better opportunity to win, absolutely nobody should blame him.
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Photographer: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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