How Does The Firing of Landry Fields Affect The Future of Trae Young?

The Atlanta Hawks have made the stunning decision to fire general manager Landry Fields, which could have big ramifications for the future of Trae Young.

Apr 15, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Cory Joseph (10) blocks a shot from Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) in the third quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In the wake of the unexpected news that general manager Landry Fields has been fired, the decision on what to do with Trae Young becomes even more complex.

Young just led the NBA in assists per game (11.6) and total assists (880) while posting 24.2 points per game. He played in 76 games, suiting up for many of them with Achilles tendinitis. He led the league in AST% with 46.4% and the Hawks were 3.8 points better with him on the court rather than off of it. Furthermore, he was also one of the best clutch scorers in the NBA this season.

However, it is also true that he led the NBA in turnovers with 355 and had the worst TOV% (17.9) of his career. His efficiency also took a massive hit - he finished with the worst TS% (56.7%) since his rookie season and the third-worst 3P% of his career (34%) while taking a career-high 8.8 attempts from deep per game. As usual, Young's defense has come under scrutiny. He's taken strides since being one of the worst players in the NBA on that end, but it's still a limiting factor of any team he is a part of. He did have the lowest USG% since his rookie year, but he's never been a particularly strong off-ball player.

Last offseason, there was discourse over whether Trae Young or Dejounte Murray would be the franchise's point guard going forward. Fields ended up choosing Young and sending Murray out. It's clear that he made the right decision in doing so. By trading Murray, they added Dyson Daniels, who was just nominated for Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year owing to his excellent 2024-25 season. He is a restricted free agent next summer and all indications are that the Hawks are going to bring him back.

The issue comes with what the Hawks are going to do in regards to Young's future. Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, he is eligible to sign a four-year, $229 million extension up until next June 30 or a five-year, $345 million super max extension if he is named All-NBA this season. If an extension is not reached, Young could become a free agent next summer. He can do that by declining the $49 million player option he has in 2026-27.

Obviously, the decision to commit or not commit to Young's long-term future is a binary one. The question is what happens after that. Considering that Daniels is going to need a new deal, the Hawks would essentially be locked into a core of Young, Daniels, Johnson, Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu. What is the ceiling of that group? It's hard to say at this stage. Johnson hasn't played anywhere close to a full season while Daniels and Risacher are in their first seasons with the team. Furthermore, all of those players benefit greatly from playing off of Young's gravity. The defensive attention he draws frees up teammates for catch-and-shoot looks and he has the passing chops to find them from practically any position on the court. There's also an argument to be made that their ceilings as on-ball creators are being held back by Young's presence on the team.

Barring some sort of unexpected leap, it's fair to say that a healthy iteration of the Hawks is somewhere between the 5th seed and 8th seed next season with a possibility of jumping up to the 4th seed given development and adding more contributors in the 2025 NBA Draft. Conventional wisdom would say that spot is the worst position in the NBA. The team is neither good enough to contend for a title nor is it bad enough to add quality talent by way of the draft lottery. Even so, trading Young doesn't seem like a strong option at this stage.

The market for Young is not exactly strong right now. Most of the NBA already have a lead point guard/playmaker role tightened up. For example, the Spurs were rumored to be a destination for Young. They decided against that transaction in favor of adding De'Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings. The Orlando Magic could be interested in a new point guard - they have struggled to add offensive creators to their roster. Is Young a good fit for their team? They value their defensive identity and they probably want a player that won't take significant on-ball reps from Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. The Brooklyn Nets could be interested in signing Young as a free agent, but would they give up significant draft capital to have him lead their rebuilding team?

Realistically, Atlanta could probably expect to get a flawed All-Star or a young point guard with questions in conjunction with frontcourt depth alongside picks. That would also be an indication that the Hawks are in a rebuild, but San Antonio has control over their draft picks for the next two drafts. Therefore, they can't enter a true rebuild and would like to remain somewhat competitive in the short-term window.

In terms of whether Young is more likely to get dealt now, that's hard to say. Fields already turned down one opportunity to move on from Young. Onsi Saleh is now the GM and it's unclear how he feels about Young. There is also a possibility that Fields was fired because he wanted to commit to Young while ownership felt differently. However, that won't be known until later in this summer. It's just really puzzling that the Hawks' ownership decided to do this now after Fields oversaw two successful moves in adding Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher.

Even if we don't know for certain, more front office instability isn't likely going to improve Young's viewpoint of the franchise. He could have had issues with Fields, but that has not been reported so far. The only thing that seems certain is that the Hawks are going to undergo a change this offseason.

Additional Links

Trae Young Trade Rumors: NBA Expert Names Four Potential Landing Spots For The Hawks All-Star Point Guard

2025 NBA Awards: Atlanta Hawks Trae Young Snubbed For Clutch Player of the Year Nomination

Atlanta Hawks Fire GM Landry Fields and Promote Onsi Saleh To General Manager