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The Atlanta Hawks (26-29) are starting to bounce back from a dreary ending to January, winning four of their last six games. It does not take much to sneak into the middle of a top-heavy Eastern Conference, and they are only three games behind the Detroit Pistons for sixth place in the standings. The organization's eyes are clearly on the future, however, judging by its trade-deadline moves. Where does that leave Trae Young?
The All-Star replacement's time as the face of Hawks basketball could be approaching an end. The Hawks dealt De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic and will likely bid farewell to forthcoming free agent center Clint Capela this offseason. Management's focus is on fostering a young, promising core that consists of the currently injured two-way force Jalen Johnson, steals leader Dyson Daniels, big man Onyeka Okongwu, and 2024 No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher.
If the Hawks remain committed to Young, which is a stance they have held even when others predicted his departure, he will be a big part of that group. General manager Landry Fields may feel a major reshuffling is needed, however. Young himself could always request a trade as well.
He has two years left on his contract, with the second one being a $48.9 million player option. Atlanta could theoretically try to maximize its return value in the summer. The Trae Young era helped facilitate an unlikely 2021 conference finals appearance, but it has produced unsatisfactory results since.
As long as the 26-year-old point guard is on the team, the offense will run through him. Such a scenario may not be the organization's long-term vision. Perhaps other franchises can benefit from his bountiful abilities. We have a few places in mind. Let's break it down.
Trae Young can make the Magic truly dangerous in the East
The Orlando Magic (27-29) have hit a brick wall in the year 2025, losing 11 of their last 15 games to fall below .500 and into the NBA Play-In Tournament (for the moment, at least). Regardless of how this season wraps up, they require more offensive firepower.
Enter Young. Yes, he is shooting a career-worst 40.7 percent from the floor while leading the NBA with a concerning 4.8 turnovers per contest. And yes, he has always been more of a volume scorer than an efficient one. But the 2018 top-five draft pick can fearlessly take over games. He is the dynamic backcourt presence the Magic can use to launch themselves into the top four of the East.
Last season, the goal was simply to make the playoffs. They fulfilled that objective and nearly exceeded it, pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to a Game 7. This year is about building a consistent culture and gaining more valuable experience in high-pressure situations. Eventually, the focus must be on winning a series and morphing into a genuine threat.
Despite the Hawks' aforementioned conference finals run, they have not obtained that type of identity with Trae Young as their centerpiece. However, he can serve as a mighty effective No. 2 to Paolo Banchero. Making such a sacrifice is not easy for an athlete who is used to being the top guy wherever he plays, but if he wants to ultimately challenge for a championship, a compromise is essential.
Orlando should be able to add Young and retain rising wing Franz Wagner, assuming it makes Jalen Suggs the main component of a trade package (with draft picks). While it is difficult to part with a young and savvy guard, the upside of this hypothetical core is too good to ignore.
Young can fill the Kings' PG needs
The Sacramento Kings got a taste of relevance when they won 48 games, earned the No. 3 seed, and went to a Game 7 with the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the 2023 NBA playoffs. They plateaued, though, and have hovered around a Play-In Tournament slot for more than a year and a half. Management owes it to the fans to “Light the Beam” more often.
Now that the Kings traded De'Aaron Fox in a huge three-team deal for Zach LaVine and three first-round draft picks, among others, they could use a true point guard to take his place. Malik Monk can handle the job in the interim and is doing so quite effectively thus far (28 assists in the last four games), but an elite playmaker is a perfect fit alongside double-double machine Domantas Sabonis.
The underrated big man is averaging 20.4 points and an NBA-best 14.6 rebounds per game this season while shooting an absurd 60 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from downtown (only 2.4 attempts a contest). He deserved to be named an All-Star alternate, but I digress. Although Trae Young is a downgrade defensively from Fox, pairing him with Sabonis can potentially produce similar results to what Sacramento achieved in 2022-23.
General manager Monte McNair, assuming he is still manning the front office this offseason, might have the opportunity to include either LaVine or DeMar DeRozan in a package for Young. Stopping opponents on offense will still be an issue to address, but the Kings do not have many enticing avenues to explore at the moment. Unless they can somehow pull off a move for Kevin Durant, Trae Young feels like their most attainable All-Star.
Sacramento (28-27) can get No. 11, keep leaning on Sabonis, and trust Keegan Murray's development. The rest can be sorted out later.
The Nets have the means to jump-start a turnaround
Brooklyn Nets fans are starting to remember that feeling, you know, the one they had during the 2018-19 season. Grit characterized the Kenny Atkinson-coached group, as D'Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, a young Jarrett Allen, and sharpshooter Joe Harris lifted the team out from the abyss and into the playoffs. Finally, the Nets saw the light after suffering the effects of their infamous 2013 trade with the Boston Celtics.
They then went all in again, this time for the star trio of Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Injuries and a toe denied Brooklyn a possible chance to knock out the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The squad has not come close to touching a banner from that point on.
The experiment ended in a fiasco, just like the franchise's previous big gamble. But a high-yielding transaction with the New York Knicks this past offseason landed the Nets five first-round draft picks. They can use some of those assets to trade for an All-Star. Trae Young, who is posting 23.7 points and a league-leading 11.5 assists per game, is a logical option to be Brooklyn's number 1 for the next couple of years.
If Cam Thomas did not miss most of this current season with hamstring strains, maybe that statement would be false. The 23-year-old is going to be a restricted free agent this summer and could command a sizable contract. The team can match whatever offer he receives, or it can target an established guy like Young.
There are definite risks, to be sure. Acquiring Young will be costly, and retaining him for the long run would be even more expensive. On his own, he obviously does not make the Nets a title contender. But to pursue Young, one needs resources and a willingness to do business. This franchise has both.
