Three New Teams Emerge As Potential Destinations For Trae Young

The Trae Young era might be coming to an end in Atlanta soon and three new teams have emerged as possibilities

Mar 14, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) dribbles against LA Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

There is a possibility that the Trae Young era in Atlanta might be coming to an end.

There were a flurry of reports yesterday about Young and his future in Atlanta and it started with longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein reporting that the Washington Wizards have emerged as a legitimate candidate to land Young, with a potential deal being centered around CJ McCollum and other expiring contracts that Washington has.

Following that report, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Young and his agents are working with the Hawks to find a trade out of Atlanta. Now, a move could be made today, tomorrow, a week from now, or at the trade deadline on February 5th, but a Trae Young trade seems very real right now.

While Washington was the first team reported to be interested in Young, three new teams are now reportedly interested in trading for the Hawks All-Star.

New Teams Emerge

According to Michael Scotto at HoopsHype, the Bucks, Timberwolves, and Clippers have shown an interest in acquiring Young via trade.

Sources: Hawks have resisted including Zaccharie Risacher and the Pelicans’ 2026 pick in Anthony Davis trade talks.

Plus, reporting on teams interested in Trae Young, Ivica Zubac’s trade market, Pacers targets, Cavs, Nets, and Celtics intel on @hoopshype. https://t.co/bxkPQOky7T

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) January 6, 2026

"The Bucks have diligently explored roster upgrades around Giannis Antetokounmpo and rank 26th in the league in points per game (113.3). The Timberwolves have actively explored the trade market across the league in search of a potential starting point guard upgrade, league sources told HoopsHype. The Clippers have underwhelmed overall to start the season despite a recent winning spurt. They must determine their long-term plan for James Harden, who has a player option for next season, which includes a $13.3 million partially guaranteed salary that becomes fully guaranteed for $42.32 million on July 11th.

Amid these trade discussions picking up, the 27-year-old guard has currently been sidelined with a right quad contusion, coming off his previous MCL injury."

While all three teams make sense, it would not be easy to do a deal with either of them.

Milwaukee appears to be set on keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo past the trade deadline and try to add talent around him in hopes of making a run in the Eastern Conference. While that might seem foolish, Milwaukee appears to be desperate to add any sort of talent around Giannis and Myles Turner, as they have been connected to Zach LaVine, and adding Young at a low price is not a terrible move from them.

It is hard to find a straight trade for Young that would work for Atlanta. The simplest one would be sending Young to the Bucks for Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis, and Gary Harris, but all three of those players have one more year left on their deal and are not exactly going to help the Hawks win. They could fit for the rest of the year, with Kuzma being a backup to Zaccharie Risacher (which the Hawks don't really have) and Portis would be a nice backup for Jalen Johnson, but would the Hawks want them on the team next year?

If Milwaukee threw in their unprotected 2031 1st round pick, that might be enticing enough for the Hawks to pull the trigger. I think if Milwaukee wants to trade for Young, it might need to be a multi team deal where the Bucks could send those players elsewhere.

Minnesota could use an upgrade at point guard, but they would have to trade multiple impact players away and that would make their team less impressive and without much depth. A combination of guys like Naz Reid, Mike Conley, and/or Donte DiVincenzo could get it done, but then Minnesota would be without two of their best players and unsure if their team is actually better.

The Clippers make a lot of sense, as they are another team without many assets to acquire talent and they could acquire Young in multiple ways. They could try and include James Harden in the deal, though I doubt the Hawks want him in return, or they could use a combination of John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic's deals to land him while giving the Hawks the cap space they desire to either make a big trade or use in free agency.

Things are starting to heat up in the Trae Young trade market and a deal could happen at any point in time over the next few weeks.