Kenyon Martin Urges Rockets to Trade for Hawks' Trae Young

Trae Young could seemingly be the next NBA superstar on the move. In fact, the Atlanta Hawks star guard could be the next player on the move.

Momentum is heating up.

Unsurprisingly. It was somewhat obvious that we'd get to this junction when the two sides failed to reach a long term deal in the summer.

And with Jalen Johnson's superstar level play, Atlanta can afford to part with Young.

The latest buzz is that the Washington Wizards are interested in acquiring the All-Star guard, as it would give them an opportunity to offload C.J. McCollum's expiring salary, while also potentially fetching a draft pick in return, as the Hawks may he forced to shell out a pick to get rid of Young.

Depending on what (and who) you believe, the Houston Rockets could look to get involved in such a deal, as a third-party partner, if it allowed them to nab extra draft capital.

Again, depending on what you believe.

It's clear that Houston doesn't want Young. They've not been linked to him at all.

And he's seemingly been available for months and they've made no attempt to get him.

Although Houston would have an extremely complicated path towards getting him, even if they wanted to.

But former All-Star and 15-year NBA veteran Kenyon Martin believes Houston's brass should make a move for Young, which he explained on Gil's Arena.

"I'd trade Reed Sheppard and another pick for Trae Young. Just my two cents."

Such a trade would be mathematically impossible as Houston would need $34 million in outgoing salary.

"We'll give you Jabari [Smith Jr.] and Tari Eason."

Still $18 million short.

Martin made another counter offer.

"We'll give you Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard and a pick."

Still not enough outgoing salary, although it's closer. This one is $16 million off.

"They'll throw Jae'Sean Tate in there. They've got money. They've got some pieces that they could throw in this deal. They still got the Holiday kid. Aaron Holiday. They still got him."

This one is $25 million off.

Lastly.

"Fred [VanVleet], Reed Sheppard, pick and Jabari. For Trae Young? Sh-t."

This one works, mathematically.

However, VanVleet has the ability to veto the deal, due to his implied no-trade clause, so it's not guaranteed to work.

He can block it.

And Young isn't quite a fit for what Rockets coach Ime Udoka wants to do. And Houston likes what they've seen from Sheppard and surely wouldn't want to lose him on a rookie deal for Young, who has one year left on his deal, which is a player option, and will command another $40+ million annually.