Placing Each NBA Team Into A Tier Based On Their Likelihood Of Trading For Trae Young

Like clockwork, the Trae Young trade rumors have started back up again.

The rumors have never really gone away for the Hawks, considering that the Hawks have not won a playoff series since the 2021 postseason when they went to the Eastern Conference Finals, but now that Atlanta has lost seven straight and fallen to 10th place, the rumors have kicked back up a notch.

The Hawks came into this season with hopes of being a contender in the Eastern Conference, but injuries to Young and Kristaps Porzingis, along with some other problems, have this team looking like another play-in team. Atlanta has cratered defensively and while that is not all of Young's fault (they were cratering before he came back), it feels like the Hawks might be ready to make some changes for the first time regarding Young.

Just yesterday, NBA reported Tim McMahon said this on the Hoop Collective Podcast:

“The Hawks certainly are indicating that they're looking for the exit ramp with Trae Young. They did not make any attempt to get him signed to an extension. When that's the case with your face of the franchise, that's a pretty clear message that the end could be near.”

If Atlanta does move Young, it is not easy to find a landing spot for him, for various reasons. If we put teams into different tiers in terms of the likelihood they trade for Young, here is how it would look.

Tier 1: No Chance- Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and New Orleans Pelicans

Trae Young Atlanta Hawjk — Dec 27, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) in action against the New York Knicks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

That is a lot of teams isn't it?

One of the reasons that Young might not be traded is that there are not a lot of obvious landing spots for Young. There is a lot of point guard talent in the league, and given that Young makes a lot of money and wants another big contract, it is tough to find a landing spot for him.

I can say though that I would be shocked if it is any of these teams.

The Pistons have a superstar point guard in Cade Cunningham. The Knicks have Jalen Brunson. Boston does not need Young to go along with their current roster. The 76ers have Tyrese Maxey. Cleveland is debating whether they should move Darius Garland, and is not likely to want another small guard. The Pacers will get Tyrese Haliburton back next season. Orlando just moved a lot of draft capital for Desmond Bane and Young does not seem like a good fit with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.

Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, the Lakers, the Warriors, the Mavs, and the Bulls already have established point guards, and the Pelicans not only still have Dejounte Murray, but they just drafted Jeremiah Fears to be their future franchise point guard. Also, the Hawks control the Pelicans' draft pick and would not want to make them better.

Anything can happen in the NBA, but it would be a shock to see any of these teams make a move for Young.

Tier 2: Top point guard swaps- Memphis and Charlotte

LaMelo Ball Charlotte Hornet — Dec 23, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) drives past Washington Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly (0) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images | Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

I don't think this is a realistic idea, but it is a possibility that has been mentioned nationall.

If Charlotte or Memphis is looking to switch things up with the point guards they have, would they be interested in swapping either Ja Morant or LaMelo Ball for Young? It feels like Charlotte is the least likely to do that, just because of Ball's height and playmaking ability.

At the beginning of the season, it felt like Morant might get moved, but those rumors have cooled. It Memphis wanted to start over and move on from Morant, would they want to swap him for Young if no other team wants Morant?

It feels very unlikely that either of these teams are actually interested, but there is a better than zero percent chance.

Tier 3: Young teams looking to take a step up- Brooklyn, Washington, Portland, and Utah

Dec 27, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) shoots over San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

All of these teams (I think?) would rather be in the draft lottery than acquire Young, but I do think there is a small chance that one of these teams decides to accelerate things a little big and make a move to get out of the bottom of the league.

Believe it or not, Brooklyn is only three games out of 10th place in the Eastern Conference and are playing really good basketball in the month of December. If Brooklyn continues to play well and creeps closer to the play-in tournament and further away from top lottery odds, would they just rather trade for Young? They just drafted multiple point guards in the draft and I think trading for Young is unlikely, but you never know.

Washington is another team that has been tanking for multiple years and if the Wizards just suddenly decide to try and move up, they could acquire Young to pair with their young players. Unlikely, but again, you never know.

The two teams in this tier that seem most likely to do this are Utah and Portland. The Blazers are currently the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference and have a good defensive identity, but they lack consistent offense. They have the kind of defensive infrastructure to shield Young on defense and are not as far down the standings as Washington or Brooklyn.

Utah has been a surprise this season and is one game behind Portland for the 10th seed. They already have an All-NBA caliber player in Lauri Markkanen, and if they are ready to try and put more players around him to try and be a playoff team, they are an interesting fit.

Tier 4: Sacramento

It is always tough to figure out what the Kings are going to do and they have been rumored to want a franchise point guard. They are near the bottom of the standings and getting Young is not likely to make them a play-in team. Still, the Kings are unpredictable and I would even say they would be my pick of any team in the NBA to make a deal for Young.

Tier 5- Teams without their own draft picks: Phoenix and the Los Angeles Clippers

Neither the Clippers or the Suns are actual contenders, but both can't afford to tank like some of the teams listed above. The Clippers have been the most disappointing team in the NBA this season and could try and make a move for Young as a way to ensure they make the play-in and maybe even the playoffs. How they get Young is a mystery, but they make sense as a destination just because they don't have control of their own draft picks.

The Suns have been the opposite of the Clippers. They have overperformed this season and are currently in 7th place in the Western Conference. Could they use Jalen Green and maybe another player as a way to pair Young with Devin Booker, who they just gave a massive extension?

Tier 6: Playoff teams who could use either a talent upgrade or point guard upgrade- Toronto, Miami, Milwaukee, Houston, and Minnesota

The final tier is teams who could use a point guard upgrade, but are unlikely to trade for Young.

Young would be a definite upgrade over Immanuel Quickley in Toronto, but the Hawks are unlikely to want his contract in return and the Raptors are not moving any other pieces to acquire Young, if they even want him. Toronto is mentioned for seemingly every star player trade and Young makes some level of sense.

Miami has won three straight after a recent losing strength and are in 6th place in the Eastern Conference. They are a team and front office that likes to buy low on stars and if they price is low enough on Young, would they do it? Unlikely, but they have been a rumored spot before.

Milwaukee is rumored to be a buyer instead of a seller and if there were some multi-team trade where they could acquire Young to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner, I think they would be very interested, but it just seems to be too complicated.

Houston lost Fred VanVleet at the beginning of the season, but they remain one of the NBA's best teams and Reed Sheppard is playing well in his absence. This does not seem like a Rockets type of move, but if the price was low enough, would they do it?

Minnesota is actually the team that I think is the most likely of this tier, but they would have to give up multiple of key players to make it work, which is why I still think it is unlikely. They are also playing really well right now.

Overall

It is just tough to find a realistic Young trade and I actually think if he is moved, it could be in a multi-team deal that lands him somewhere. I still think he is going to be on the Hawks because of all of the reasons we have talked about.