The Atlanta Hawks are entering into a pivotal offseason after beating almost impossible odds to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, the 2024 class is considered to be one of the worst this century by most experts, which limits the trade-value leverage the Hawks would typically have with the top pick.
And so it seems that the most valuable asset the Hawks have, assuming they are not interested in trading Jalen Johnson, continues to be Trae Young. There are plenty of question about Young’s value as well.
Young is on a max deal, but reasonable minds can disagree whether he’s actually a max player. If Atlanta does look to trade Young, one destination that has consistently been mentioned is the San Antonio Spurs, who would make sense given the fact that Victor Wembanayama would pair as a deadly two-man partner with Young while theoretically covering for at least some of Young’s defensive vulnerability.
But according to Yahoo’s Jack Fischer, the Spurs — who have the Nos. 4 and 8 picks in this draft, which would make them a logical partner for the Hawks to potentially trade with — have expressed “little interest” in trading for Young.
San Antonio personnel would be committing front-office malpractice by not contemplating the opportunity to pair a league assist leader and high-screen maestro like Young to pair with Wembanyama.
The Spurs have so far approached building around Wembanyama as an intriguing experiment, where they will weigh all different kinds of variables around their Rookie of the Year.
However, according to multiple league figures with knowledge of the situation, any Spurs plans of maneuvering to bring Young to San Antonio have been vastly overstated. The Spurs, sources said, have expressed little interest in obtaining Young to date.
Fischer went on to report what has already been widely reported — that the Lakers, who are armed with three trade-eligible first-round picks, are interested in Young, but players like Donovan Mitchell and Brandon Ingram, should either of them become available, would be more sought after than Young.
Atlanta is in a tight spot. Young is the team’s best player, but that has been true for a long time, and outside the surprise 2021 run to the Eastern Conference finals that time has proven to have been more of a friendly matchup fluke, Young has not proven to be a franchise-lifting player. The Hawks finished below .500 this season and have been in the Play-In Tournament the last two years.
Young is going to get his numbers, but he’s a defensive liability and widely regarded as somewhat difficult to play with. He controls the ball and doesn’t move much without it. He has not been as productive of a 3-point shooter as his talent would suggest he should be, though this year he did convert at a 37% clip on pretty high volume.
Can Young lead a championship contender? Right now, most people would say no, and yet he’s being paid like a guy who can. That’s a problem. One that, as it appears right now, the Spurs apparently aren’t excited about taking on.
