The Atlanta Hawks have had one of the busiest offseasons of any team in the NBA, trading for Kristaps Porzingis and signing Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard in free agency, among other moves. It's all been part of an effort to build a viable roster around Trae Young, something Atlanta has largely failed to do up to this point in the All-Star's career.
Of course, Young is still the engine that makes the Hawks go, and Atlanta fans would certainly like to see him around for the long haul, especially considering the new additions.
Young is currently eligible for a four-year maximum extension, but recently, Mark Spears took to ESPN's NBA Today to shed light on the state of things between the Hawks and their point guard.
“What I'm hearing now at this point…I think he's disappointed that it hasn't come, it hasn't been offered,” said Spears, via Oh No He Didn't on X, formerly Twitter.
Young also raised eyebrows when he recently commented on a publicized trade request from Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, writing the following on X: “This why you pay the man early, when someone will take less early to stay in a place he wanted to be forever, you do it… the price only goes up now!
“Get what you deserve bro!”
Some fans took this as a not-so-subtle warning to the Hawks to go and offer him the max.
An intriguing Hawks team
Assuming Young and the Hawks eventually do come to an agreement to keep the star in Atlanta long-term, the Hawks could have one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference next season.
Atlanta has long been trying to add versatile wings and three-point shooting around Young to help accentuate his strengths and cover for his weaknesses, and this offseason, they were able to do just that with a series of savvy acquisitions.
This, combined with the current injury-weakened state of the Eastern Conference, could be enough to vault Atlanta into contention for the first time since they made the conference finals back in 2021.
The Hawks' schedule is slated to be released later this month.
