Averaging 24.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 11.5 assists on the season, the Atlanta Hawks All-Star, Trae Young, has given the Atlanta faithful cause for concern after answering an interview question regarding the possibility of an extension with the Hawks.
Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2018 and subsequently traded to Atlanta for the third overall pick in Slovenian point guard Luka Dončić, Young quickly became the Hawks’ franchise star and is now a four-time NBA All-Star.
In 2022, the point guard signed a five-year, $215 million rookie-scale extension contract with the Hawks. However, as the offseason rapidly approaches, Young will soon face a crossroads that might determine the trajectory of the rest of his career.
Trae Young Addresses NBA Future With the Atlanta Hawks
He is eligible for an extension in the upcoming summer. If Atlanta does its due diligence to retain its All-Star, he must decide whether it is time to take his talents elsewhere.
When asked about the possibility of signing an extension with the Hawks this summer, Young responded rather ambivalently — at least much more so than Atlanta fans would have preferred.
“Yeah. I’m still stuck in the moment right now and not really focusing on that right now. I know it’s going to come,” Young said. “People will be asking questions here. I’m just focusing on this team, building these young guys, and giving them confidence. At the end of the year, everything else will be discussed.”
In March of last year, Young made it very clear what his intentions were in the league:
“I wanna win…if that’s in Atlanta, that’s where I wanna be.”
“I wanna win… if that’s in Atlanta, that’s where I wanna be.”@TheTraeYoung responds to hearing his name in trade rumors 👀
(via @taylorrooks) pic.twitter.com/DXhCBMrfHC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 6, 2024
The conditional parameters that Young has placed on his staying in a Hawks jersey should not be great news to Atlanta fans. The Hawks are currently 36-38 and a seventh seed in the Eastern Conference — far from scraping the bottom of the league’s barrel but hardly in championship discussions. While the Eastern Conference is not as much of a dogfight as the West, it will be a statistical miracle if the Hawks make it past the second round.
As for Young, his time in Atlanta has been laudable yet just short of memorable. From draft night, Young’s name has often been paired in discussions with his replacement, Luka Dončić. Young averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 assists per game as a rookie and was named to the 2019 NBA All-Rookie first team.
But the international sensation in the duo of Dončić and Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki was too overpowering and dominated the mainstream discourse. Since then, Young has proved worthy of his fifth-overall pick status, establishing himself as a true point guard who can facilitate and lead an offense.
However, legacies are cemented by victories, not statistics. Young will only earn accurate recognition when his team starts winning — and it is clear that he knows that. However, whether the Atlanta Hawks will be that team is a question that only Young can answer.