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The Atlanta Hawks have had a busy offseason in 2025, trading for Kristaps Porzingis, signing Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard in free agency, and drafting Asa Newell. And those things don't even mention arguably the Hawks' biggest win of this summer, swindling the New Orleans Pelicans out of their 2026 first-round pick swap with the Milwaukee Bucks during this year's draft.
One key storyline that the Hawks have yet to address this offseason is a potential contract extension for Trae Young. Recently, NBA insider Bobby Marks hit Atlanta with a harsh warning about what that may look like.
“I would approach it with an extension but not at the 4 (years) for 222 (million) number here,” stated Marks, per NBA Today. “I think we are at a day and age of roster building where you have to be extremely careful when you hand out max contracts, where you are averaging out $55 million.”
Marks also clarified that “Trae Young is certainly an All-Star level player. I’m not putting him up there in a Top 15, maybe even Top 20 in the NBA. I want to see how this roster develops,” per Yardbarker.
A big decision for the Hawks
Trae Young has long been one of the most polarizing players in the NBA, undeniably one of the league's most talented offensive engines but with well-documented flaws defensively that may make him more difficult to build around than other star players.
If a perfect roster to surround Young with exists, the Hawks have certainly come close to building it this offseason. While Young is a small guard, Atlanta has implemented size and shooting at every other position on the floor, giving Young the most defensively versatile roster he's ever worked with, as well as his best shooting teammates since 2021, when Atlanta made the Eastern Conference Finals.
Young and the Hawks don't have to come to an agreement on extension in the immediate future, and it's likely that the team will let things play out before deciding how they want to proceed for their franchise's best player of the modern era.
