The Atlanta Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons in 2023-24.
This gap triggered the decision to trade Dejounte Murray left the Hawks to reorganize around three-time All-Star Trae Young.
However, Young remains a polarizing figure who many still believe can’t be the focal point of a championship-caliber team. Former Hawks star Jeff Teague — who was a teammate of Young’s during the latter’s sophomore season in 2019-20 — believes there’s not much of a decision to make.
“No, man. You you can’t trade Trae Young” Teague told “Club 520” host DJ Wells on an episode that aired Aug. 22. “You still gotta put your ass on the seat, man. He definitely has to watch TV when he’s hooping. He’s doing shows, he’s getting 40, 28 [points]. Atlanta loves him. The fans love him. So it’s like, [you] You can’t do that. Not now. Unless you’re about to get, damn it, first pick.
Wells said trading Young was the latest step in the Hawks’ ongoing rebuild.
Teague — while referring to the Hawks as “us” — lamented not getting the No. 1 pick in a draft with Cooper Flagg or AJ Dybansta, two of the most promising prospects moving forward.
The Hawks landed 6-foot-2 Zaccharie Risacher with the first pick in the 2024 NBA draft, a class that was scrutinized before the order was set. Young said he didn’t see any franchise players among Risacher’s draft class.
Back to Wells, the Hawks with Young might be competitive enough to do without Flagg in 2025.
“How are you going to move 28 [points] and 10 [assists]” Teague said. “What do you get for 28 and 10? I don’t know anyone else who gets 28 and 10.”
The panel agreed that Risacher would have a great career. But the absence of a top-tier player is far from ideal when discussing a No. 1 overall pick. The Hawks need the team around Young to offset the talent drain from losing a former All-Star like Murray.
Risacher and his new friend Dyson Daniels are essential in this regard.
They’ll join De’Andre Hunter as the Hawks’ top three perimeter defenders and will be key to protecting Young, whose size will always make him a target in the playoffs.
Young is in the third year of a five-year, $215.1 million contract. But he has a $48.9 million player option for the final season in 2026-27. That effectively gives the Hawks the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons to make do with him lest they risk losing him.
Young said he didn’t win enough.
He led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020-21, but they have declined since then, missing the playoffs in 2023-24 after two straight first-round eliminations.
Rumors swirled at the trade deadline and after the season that the Hawks were undecided about trading Murray for Young, who represented Atlanta in multiple ways, reprimand the league for having the Hawks on the road on Martin Luther King Day and for rocking a remarkable hat.
The decision to trade him would apparently be up to the Hawks and would have a major impact.
After a tumultuous three seasons, this may not be the smartest organizational move for the Hawks.
