It’s not looking great between Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. No matter how anyone slices it, they haven’t done anything significant in the NBA since their Eastern Conference finals run nearly five years ago.
It appears the Hawks are reaching a breaking point with Young. It may no longer be a matter of if they trade him, but when. Only recently has it been confirmed how Young feels about the possibility of being moved.
How Does Trae Young Feel About the Hawks Trading Him?
On ESPN’s NBA Today, Marc J. Spears revealed how Young feels about the prospect of playing for a different team in the future.
“I hear he’s trying to be really careful about this,” Spears said. “This is a guy who saw Kevin Durant leave Oklahoma City as a kid and saw how that was, and he wants to continue, whether he’s there or gone, to have a connection with Atlanta.
“So, I don’t think he’s asking for a trade, but I don’t think he’s telling them not to trade him. I’m hearing he’s open-minded to being moved. He and (Kristaps) Porziņģis still haven’t really played much together, and we don’t really know what that looks like, but without an extension, but Trae seemed to be blamed for a lot of the things, fair or unfair, I do think he certainly would be open-minded to a new uniform.”
“I don’t think he’s asking for a trade, but I don’t think he’s telling [the Hawks] not to trade him.” đź‘€
—@MarcJSpears on Trae Young and the Hawks 🏀 pic.twitter.com/6iIxGLY2vR
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 5, 2026
The numbers say the quiet part out loud regarding Young and how the Hawks fare with him. Without him, Atlanta is 15-12. With him, the Hawks are 2-8. Overall, they sit at 17-20, placing them No. 10 in the Eastern Conference. In other words, they are headed for the play-in tournament, which is where they have landed for the past four seasons.
Young remains one of the NBA’s best offensive engines, capable of taking over games at any moment, but his defensive shortcomings are difficult to mask. The Hawks have tried to build the right roster around him, but nearly eight years after drafting him, it is becoming clear that the approach has not worked.
At this stage, Atlanta may be better served by finding a new home for Young rather than attempting to maximize trade value that may no longer be substantial. That said, the Hawks are still in a solid position. Jalen Johnson looks like a franchise cornerstone, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is in the Most Improved Player conversation, Dyson Daniels is an elite defender, and Onyeka Okongwu appears to be the center of the future.
Unfortunately, the pieces have never fully fallen into place for Young in Atlanta. But because they have not, the reality for both sides is becoming increasingly clear: a split may be the best outcome for everyone involved.
