Gauging Wizards’ Interest in Trae Young and Where the Hawks Star Wants to Be

Plus, James Dolan’s rare public comments on the Knicks, the Hornets show life and examining the Celtics’ turnaround.

Hawks guard Trae Young is likely to be traded this season. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Editor’s note: This first appeared in the Open Floor newsletter, a free, twice-weekly publication straight to your inbox. Subscribe now.

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Greetings, from Las Vegas, where I’ve made a quick stop Tuesday for Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year event. Among the honorees are Michael Phelps, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart and Cal Raleigh. And, of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be on hand to collect his Sportsperson of the Year award. It’s a great event. And a great excuse to have dinner at Hell’s Kitchen. 

Pod Alert: Rachel Nichols is back this week and we dive into Boston’s startling first-half surge, the landscape for Hawks guard Trae Young and if Oklahoma City should be concerned by this sudden midseason slump. Subscribe here, here and here. 

Trae Young’s trade market

On Monday, The Stein Line reported that the Hawks and Wizards have discussed a deal centered around Trae Young. Young’s future in Atlanta has been murky for months, of course. The Hawks declined to offer Young a contract extension before the season and have struggled with him in the lineup. Consider: Atlanta went 13–9 with Young out of the lineup earlier in the season. When he returned, the Hawks went 0–5 while Young’s production has dipped.  

Washington’s interest is real, a league source confirms to Sports Illustrated. There are ties to Young in the Wizards’ front office. Travis Schlenk, who drafted Young when he ran basketball operations in Atlanta, is an exec in Washington. General manager Will Dawkins was in Oklahoma City with the Thunder when Young played at the University of Oklahoma. Among the rebuilding Wizards’ needs is a point guard. Young, 27, is a four-time All-Star who would immediately punch up one of the NBA’s worst offenses. 

And Washington can negotiate from a position of strength. There isn’t a wide market for Young, whose size (6' 2"), contract ($46 million this season with a $49 million player option next year) and style of play present challenges. Rival executives believe the Wizards—or anyone—would insist Atlanta attach a pick (or a swap, or a swap of swaps) to Young as a sweetener. Washington has some fat expiring contracts—Khris Middleton ($33.3 million) and CJ McCollum ($30.7 million)—that interest Atlanta, which could then pivot to a player who is a better fit. Like, say, Anthony Davis. 

For his part, I’m told Young doesn’t have a preferred destination. He wants to win, and he wants to be in a situation where he feels like he can be a long-term fit. He may not find that until free agency, though. For now, he may be forced to finish his deal with a team that can keep his contract on the books. 

Celtics’ turnaround

Boston, as I wrote over the weekend, is the NBA’s best story, 23–12 after clubbing the Bulls at home on Monday. That the Celtics have overcome an offseason roster gutting to remain a conference contender is incredible. And with Jayson Tatum still flirting with a midseason return, things could get real interesting on Causeway St. 

It’s worth noting, though, that in performing a roster reconstruction, the Celtics may have dodged some bullets. Jrue Holiday has missed nearly two months in Portland with a calf strain. Kristaps Porziņģis has played 15 games in Atlanta while battling the same illness that plagued him last season. Al Horford has played in 18 games with Golden State, averaging a career-low 19.6 minutes per game. Only Luke Kornet, who has been outstanding for San Antonio, is someone Boston can say it has missed. 

Tatum’s injury certainly forced the Celtics to make some hard decisions. But for an aging, expensive team it may have been the right ones to make anyway. 

James Dolan’s rare public comments

James Dolan rarely speaks to the media so it was notable to see the Knicks owner make an appearance on New York–based WFAN on Monday. Dolan confirmed that it was championship or bust this season (“We want to get to the Finals, and we should win the Finals,” Dolan said), that the Knicks are unlikely to make a trade before the Feb. 5 deadline (“This is the team.”) and that he was never, ever planning to raise the NBA Cup banner at Madison Square Garden. “I would have thrown it away,” said Dolan. 

Dolan also addressed his decision to dismiss Tom Thibodeau. Dolan said Thibodeau was “mildly surprised” to get axed after leading the Knicks to the conference finals. He also acknowledged that Thibodeau’s stubbornness played a role. 

“I won’t say you can’t win a title with Tom Thibodeau,” Dolan said. “I don’t necessarily know if that’s true. It’s just that if you want to build a long-term, competitive … you need somebody who’s much more of a collaborator than Tom was.”

Hornets show life

Is there life in Charlotte? On Monday, the Hornets picked up arguably the most stunning win of the season, thumping Oklahoma City by 27 in Oklahoma City. Brandon Miller scored 28 points. Kon Knueppel had 23. Against the Thunder’s stingy defense, Charlotte shot 53% from the floor and 51% from the three-point line. Said Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault, “I thought they came in here with a sense of purpose.”

It’s been a long road for Charlotte, which hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016 and hasn’t advanced past the first round since the turn of the century. But the Hornets have been slowly adding talent, and that talent is coming together. Charlotte is 9–4 this season when Miller, Knueppel, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges start together. After using 45 different starting lineups last season, the Hornets have used just 15 in this one. There’s work to do, particularly defensively, where Charlotte ranks in the bottom third of the NBA. But the Hornets, it seems, are coming. 

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