Trae Young Rumors: Analyst Says Don't Buy Young Staying In Atlanta

The Atlanta Hawks season ended on Friday with a play-in tournament loss to the Miami Heat and now they head into what is going to be an interesting offseason. The Hawks offseason got started with a shakeup of the front office today, with the firing of general manager Landry Fields and the promotion of Onsi Saleh

The big question around the Hawks this offseason is going to be about Trae Young's future. There were plenty of rumors around Young last offseason, but Atlanta ended up making the deal to send Dejounte Murray to New Orleans, which was a huge success. Young is eligibile for a contract extension and according to 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 but only if he declines the $49 million player option in 2026-27."

This week on the Dan Patrick show, NBA insider Chris Haynes had this to say about what he has heard about Young's future:

"He is down with the process, he wants to see this Atlanta Hawks squad turn the corner and he wants to be a pivotal part of that."

After talking about how Young modified his game this season to help fit the this roster, he did mention that other teams are monitoring his situation in Atlanta:

"Other teams are monitoring his situation and trying to see if there is going to become a point this offseason where he can he had and where he can be moved, because Trae is one of the most competitive guys in this league. When he went to that conference finals a few years ago, he wanted to continue on, he wanted the organization to do things, to make moves, to keep the team on the trajectory. Now, they took a little backstep in recent years, but he wants to get back to that point. I have not heard anything on Trae's side that would leave me to believe that he wants out right now."

Despite Haynes saying that, Bleacher Report analyst Greg Swartz says don't buy that despite Young saying all the right things about Atlanta and that the two sides should work on a trade this summer:

"Play-in losses to the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat meant no playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks for the second-straight year. In the four seasons since the Hawks reached the Eastern Conference Finals, Atlanta has amassed just three total playoff wins and failed to make it past the first round.

No one would blame Trae Young for requesting a trade at this point.

The Hawks have employed four different head coaches over the past five seasons, just fired general manager Landry Fields and are now searching for a President of Basketball Operations. The franchise is stuck in mediocrity and Young has just one guaranteed year remaining on his contract before potentially becoming a free agent in 2026.

Despite all of this, Young is reportedly happy in Atlanta.

"So he’s somebody who, again, just told me a week, a week and a half ago, that he’s down with the process. He wants to see this Atlanta Hawks squad turn the corner and he wants to be a pivotal part in that," NBA Insider Chris Haynes shared on The Dan Patrick Show.

Young is eligible to sign a four-year, $229 million max extension with Atlanta this summer, so he could always look to get paid now and ask out later.

The Hawks do have some interesting young pieces with No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, Defensive Player of the Year finalist Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson, who made an All-Star-caliber leap this past season.

Young would also be the perfect fit on a team like the Orlando Magic, an elite defensive squad in need of playmaking that could make a leap towards the top of the East with the addition of the four-time All-Star.

Buy or Sell: Sell Young truly being happy in Atlanta despite saying all the right things. The two sides should explore trade opportunities this summer."

Young posted this on social media yesterday:

ATL🩵
7Years Down & Last I won’t be in the postseason!
~Love🙏🏽❤️🏀❄️ pic.twitter.com/RsTNVzjCzk
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) April 22, 2025

"Yeah, of course. We're one of the 30 NBA teams and I feel like you can win here. I've won before here - I haven't won a championship, but I've achieved a lot of things here and I know what it takes. I definitely feel like I can win."

I don't think the Hawks will end up trading Young, as they have built this team to be successful around him and there is a lot of optimism that with Jalen Johnson back that they can be a top six team in the East, but things can always change in the NBA. It is the biggest question of the Hawks offseason and any decision they make will revolve around whether they trade Young or not.