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

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.

This was a mostly successful season for the Hawks, even if they did not make the playoffs. This was a young team that had a lot of unknowns heading into the season, but a lot of those questions got answered. Dyson Daniels was the perfect backcourt teammate with Trae Young and showed why he is one of the best defenders in the league while improving by leaps and bounds on offense. Zaccharie Risacher showed continued improvement and was one of the best rookies in the NBA this season. Onyeka Okongwu took over as the starting center and showed that he could hold that position for the Hawks, while Jalen Johnson looked like an All-Star. If Johnson had not suffered a season-ending injury, as well as Larry Nance and Clint Capela getting injured, the Hawks might have been a top-six seed in the East.

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."

If the Hawks do end up moving Young and going in a different direction, who would be interested? Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey listed four potential spots for Young:

1. Orlando Magic

"The Orlando Magic have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Chief among them are star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.

But even with those two up-and-coming scorers, the Magic had a whale of a time scoring all season, finishing 26th in the league in points per 100 possessions.

Say what you will about Young's defense and rebounding. There's almost no chance a team led by him would struggle that much on the offensive end.

With Young's unlimited range and willingness to shoot from everywhere, defenses have to chase him way outside the three-point line (even in years when his three-point percentage isn't great). And his vision and feel as a playmaker out of the pick-and-roll are nearly unmatched.

A starting lineup with him, Banchero and Wagner would be guaranteed to be far more effective offensively. And the Magic have the contracts and picks necessary to put together a solid offer without giving up either of their big-name forwards."

2. Brooklyn Nets

"With Nicolas Claxton and Cameron Johnson being their only players under contract for more than $20 million in 2025-26, the Brooklyn Nets figure to have loads of cap space this summer.

If they land a solid finisher in the first round of the 2025 draft, they could piece together some smaller contracts and future picks, offer them for Young and absorb his $46 million salary into cap space.

Would Nets fans be universally on board with accelerating the rebuild like that? Probably not, but Young would absolutely supercharge this offense and give the team more of an idea of how to build going forward.

Generally speaking, the Hawks had the right idea in trying to surround him with three-and-D forwards and wings. And Brooklyn would already have a step headed in that direction with Johnson."

Atlanta Hawks PG Trae Youn — Apr 10, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) controls the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

3. Phoenix Suns

"This one's a little off the wall, but the Phoenix Suns just finished 10 games under .500, while having, by far, the most expensive roster in the NBA.

Drastic changes could be on the way, including potential trades of Kevin Durant or Devin Booker.

Of course, if Atlanta went after either, it'd be the side giving up picks and/or young players (even with Young also headed to Phoenix), but maybe that's fine, especially if it's for Booker.

There's an interesting core of forwards and wings in place for the Hawks with Zaccharie Risacher, Dyson Daniels and Johnson.

Continued development from those three and an even slightly more engaged defender in Young's place could get Atlanta headed in the right direction quickly."

4. San Antonio Spurs

"The idea of Trae joining Victor Wembanyama on the San Antonio Spurs had a lot more juice last summer, long before De'Aaron Fox was traded there.

But San Antonio could still get a little crazy and add Young's immense playmaking talent to a lineup that would include Fox and Stephon Castle.

The wingspans of Fox (6'6") and Castle (6'9") make them reasonable options to play at the 2 and the 3. And the wealth of playmaking and passing from that trio would make life on the offensive end a breeze for Wemby.

He'd likely have a lot more to clean up on the other end, but he's already the best backline defender in the NBA. San Antonio is uniquely positioned to get creative with him on the roster."

Of the four, I think the Magic and Nets would be the most likely of them. It is hard to see the Spurs adding Young after they added Fox and I don't think Phoenix will be interested.

There are a lot of layers in the decision about what the Hawks do with Young. Do the Hawks want to continue to draft young players and develop them for the future? They will likely have two first round picks this season and could add more young talent to the team. If that is the direction, is Young ok with that or does he want them to make a move to win sooner? He is entering his prime and may not want to wait any longer to try and win. If that is the case, what do the Hawks do? What kind of contract are the Hawks willing to offer Young? In this new CBA environment with the aprons and restrictions, it may not benefit the Hawks to giving Young the max deal.

In his exit interview Saturday, Young stated that he still feels that he can win in Atlanta:

"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 change. It is the biggest question of the Hawks offseason and any decision they make will revolve around whether they trade Young or not.

Additional Links

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

A Promising Rookie Season Leads To Atlanta Hawks Forward Zaccharie Risacher Nominated For ROTY

Lockdown Season Leads to Dyson Daniels Nominated for 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year Award