The Atlanta Hawks fell short of a playoff berth for the second straight season after losing to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament. The biggest question the team will have to answer this offseason will be around the future of Trae Young. The four-time All-Star selection has been a franchise cornerstone since getting drafted with the No. 5 overall pick in 2018.
It feels like rumors are always swirling around a potential trade involving Young. Could this be the offseason that speculation becomes reality? The 26-year-old is eligible for a contract extension, and if the two sides don’t strike a deal, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in 2027, with a player option for the 2026-27 season.
If Atlanta decides to move on from its superstar, here are five potential landing spots that would make sense.
5 Potential Trae Young Landing Spots
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic reached the NBA playoffs for the second straight season, but they suffered an early exit yet again. The front office has built a strong foundation, and the team has tasted success. However, improvements are needed to take the next step, particularly on the offensive end.
The Magic were an elite defensive team, finishing with the NBA’s second-best defensive rating (109.1). On the flip side, they were highly inefficient on the offensive end, ranking 26th in offensive rating (110.4) and 29th in effective field goal percentage (51.4%). They were a poor shooting team, especially from behind the arc. They shot just 32.2% from deep (30th in the NBA), which was a decline from the 35.6% they shot in 2023.
Orlando has two rising stars in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, both of whom put up strong numbers this season. Jalen Suggs was also enjoying a career year before a quad injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. This team is lacking a floor general who can run the show and create, though. That’s where Young comes in. He averaged a double-double for the third straight season, with a career-high 11.6 assists per game. He’s also a 35% 3-point shooter for his career despite a high volume of attempts.
Young is a liability on defense, but he’d be surrounded by length on a unit that already thrived on that end of the floor. His playmaking, shot creation, and confidence in the clutch could help this young team get over the hump.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are coming off a season of disappointment. The team finished 10 games below .500 (36-46) in its lone campaign under Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after the season. The results didn’t match the vision of the All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal playing together.
While it may not be clear what the Suns are going to do this offseason, you can bet there will be some significant changes. The team needs a reset, and that could involve moving on from one or two of their stars. Phoenix may not be the most realistic landing spot for Young, but it certainly could be a fun one.
Devin Booker has been a foundational piece for the Suns franchise since arriving in 2015. He’s meant a lot to the organization, so they may be more willing to move on from Durant and Beal. Young and Booker would be an intriguing backcourt pairing. On one hand, you would need to put some strong defenders around them. On the other hand, you’d be putting an elite shot-creator next to one of the best scorers in the game today.
Durant would likely be Atlanta’s preferred target, as they don’t have much incentive to take on Beal unless they’re ready to enter a full rebuild.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers could be an ideal trade partner for the Hawks. They are a team on the rise, having won 15 more games in 2024 than they did the previous season. They also have plenty of tradeable assets, both players and future draft picks.
While the Trail Blazers weren’t particularly impressive on either side of the court, they made incremental improvements in terms of efficiency. They scored 111.7 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass, a jump from 108.2 in 2023. On the defensive end, they allowed 114.9 points per 100, improving over 118.5 the prior season.
Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons have emerged as promising young talents on the perimeter. Scoot Henderson has also shown signs of growth after two NBA seasons. Simons, in particular, has been a name floating around in trade speculation.
Portland could use him as trade bait to lure Trae Young to town. Simons can put the ball in the basket himself (19.3 PPG in 2024), but he’s not nearly the creator that the All-Star guard is.
Joining the Blazers would give Young the opportunity to work with Chauncey Billups and be an important part of the franchise’s upward trajectory.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets enjoyed a resurgence during the 2024-25 season, finishing with their best record since 2018. After a few years of being basement dwellers in the Western Conference, the franchise has quickly turned things around under head coach Ime Udoka. One of the league’s brightest franchises, rich with young and promising talent, now enters the offseason with some important decisions.
The most important decision for Houston is how they handle Fred VanVleet’s contract. He’s the team’s highest earner and is 31 years old. His veteran presence is invaluable, but Houston must decide if they are willing to pay him that much or save money by declining the option. If they’re ready to move on, they could look to trade him as part of a deal for Trae Young.
The Rockets have a deep and talented young core, which makes them an intriguing trade partner for the Hawks. Houston signed Jalen Green and Aleperen Şengün to extensions, but Amen Thompson may be the team’s most valuable asset. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and Reed Sheppard become available this summer.
The Rockets were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA this season (110.3 defensive rating), so Young would have backup on that end of the floor. Given the talent on the roster, they would be well-suited to maximize his ability to create for himself and his teammates.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are coming off a disappointing season, one that included trading away Jimmy Butler and ended in a first-round sweep to the Cleveland Cavaliers. There is a sizeable gap between Miami and the teams at the top of the Eastern Conference. However, they do have a solid foundation to start.
Erik Spoelstra’s squad features two All-Star-caliber players in Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, and some talented young pieces like Jaime Jaquez, Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jović, and Davion Mitchell. They also acquired veteran wing Andrew Wiggins in the Butler trade. So, this could be a franchise willing to play ball.
Miami’s 112.0 defensive rating placed them inside the top 10 in the NBA this season. Their offense, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as consistent, scoring just 112.4 points per 100 possessions. Can the frontcourt offset the defensive woes that could come from a Young and Herro backcourt? Regardless, the offensive firepower would be a lot for opposing defenses to handle.
The talent upgrade Young would bring to a team desperately needing more offensive firepower is undeniable. If the Heat want to maximize the primes of Herro and Adebayo, they could be wise to add a dynamic playmaker who can run the show and bring instant scoring juice.
