Shocking details about the future of Trae Young’s Hawks

It feels like an eternity since the Atlanta Hawks faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were one of the best teams in the NBA after Nate McMillan took over as head coach and finished the regular season strong before beating the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in the postseason as the sixth seed.

Since then, the Hawks have not been able to match that success. They had to play through the NBA Play-In Tournament last season, defeating the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers before being bounced out of the first round in five games by the Miami Heat.

This season, Atlanta is moving in the same direction. They got off to a strong start but were a mediocre team for the most part. The Hawks are currently 16-16 and are ranked 19th in offensive rating and 16th in defensive rating.

The big blow they made in the off-season, acquiring Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, has not had as much of an impact as they hoped. Are there any more big moves on the horizon?

The front office has seen some major changes this week as Travis Schlenk takes on a senior advisory role and General Manager Landry Fields takes on more responsibility. His first job is to find a trade around John Collins, but a trade request from Trae Young could be looming, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

“Rival executives on hand at the NBA’s annual G League Winter Showcase believe that Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young could be the next rookie max-extension player to request a trade if the team the season does not make a breakthrough. .

Young, 24, is as competitive as can be and has a strong desire to win big in this competition. He is under contract through the 2026-27 season, but has an early termination option after the 2025-26 season.”

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Trae Young & Atlanta Hawks Updates

Young is in the first season of a five-year supermax rookie extension he signed ahead of the 2021-2022 season worth more than $215 million. That shouldn’t be a deterrent to teams interested in acquiring him, as he’s a two-time All-Star with an All-NBA Team nomination already on his resume.

But what should be a deterrent is that Young has a strong desire to win, but shows the same desire to do whatever it takes to win matches. He remains a sieve for the defense as he is one of the worst players in the NBA on that side of the field.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Trae Young & Atlanta Hawks Updates

Working relationships with coaches were also a problem, as Young disagreed with Lloyd Pierce and now has growing tensions with McMillan.

In addition, it is challenging to build a squad around Young given his defensive limitations and his playing style in attack. He dominates the ball, which is sometimes a difficult style for guys to buy into because it takes a specific type of player to succeed.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Trae Young & Atlanta Hawks Updates

Considering how much effort the Hawks put into building around Young, it would take a lot for them to say goodbye to him. Given the number of seasons he’s still under contract for before he can become free agency, Atlanta is going to ask for the moon in exchange for him if a trade question comes up.