At long last, the Atlanta Hawks put an end to the Trae Young era. In the eight-plus seasons he played for the Hawks, Young took them to the playoffs three times from 2021 to 2023, which included a run to the Eastern Conference Finals almost five years ago.
However, the Hawks’ regression over the last two years, to the point that they’ve missed the playoffs, reflected poorly on Young. Sadly, they also waited too long because he was basically dumped in Washington. Even though it had been time to move on, Paul Pierce disapproved of the Hawks’ decision.
What Did Paul Pierce Have To Say About the Hawks After the Trae Young Trade?
On Pierce’s and Danny Green’s podcast, “No Fouls Given,” Pierce did not hold back when he criticized Atlanta for trading Young.
“I’m never shocked by what the Atlanta Hawks do,” Pierce said. “As a mid franchise, a franchise that’s not respected as an organization because of ownership, they never do anything that surprises me. For them to give up a four-time All-Star, a guy who’s an elite PG in the league and got them to the Eastern Conference, and not get a draft pick out of it? That tells me you wanted him out of your city, out of your state.
“…Organizations like this will never be elite. Organization like this will never win a championship in my lifetime. I guarantee you that. If they do I will crawl from LA to New York on my knees… They’re going to be a middling franchise for eternity.”
Paul Pierce GOES OFF on the Atlanta Hawks for the return they got for Trae Young 😳
“I’m not shocked what they did. As a mid franchise, a franchise that’s not respected as an organization because of ownership, they never do anything that surprises me. For them to give up a 4x… pic.twitter.com/rJ1Fyj2NIS
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) January 9, 2026
As talented as Young is, he wasn’t making the Hawks better this season, which, when combining that with their inability to make the playoffs over the last two years, isn’t a good look for him. Factually speaking, the team went 2-8 in the 12 games he played for them. Atlanta is currently 18-21 on the year, meaning they were 16-13 without him.
It seemed like the writing was on the wall that Young’s time with the Hawks was coming to an end. They earnestly tried to build a winning team around Young, and by the time they realized that it was a fruitless effort, he had lost his value.
With all that out there, if Washington builds the team Atlanta had always wanted around Young, then Pierce’s words will age like wine. But if they don’t, and the Hawks prove they were better off without him (like they have), then Pierce’s words will age like milk.
