{"id":93870,"date":"2024-09-01T18:07:09","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T22:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=93870"},"modified":"2024-09-01T18:07:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T22:07:29","slug":"why-hawks-should-keep-trae-young-make-blockbuster-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/01\/why-hawks-should-keep-trae-young-make-blockbuster-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks Should Keep Trae Young, Make Blockbuster Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though the Atlanta Hawks look like a franchise entering a rebuilding stage, there\u2019s one problem: they don\u2019t control any of their own first-round picks until 2028. Consequently, if the Hawks were to tank, it wouldn\u2019t benefit them. It wouldn\u2019t accelerate their rebuild. Instead, they\u2019d just be wasting more of Trae Young<\/a>\u2019s prime.<\/p>\n

Of course, Young is the key to all of this.<\/p>\n

Hawks Should Keep Trae Young, Make Blockbuster Trade<\/h3>\n

Had the San Antonio Spurs placed greater value in Young, the Hawks may have been able to get the first-round picks they traded for Dejounte Murray<\/a> back. Unfortunately for Atlanta, Young isn\u2019t the type of star that Gregg Popovich usually goes after. He\u2019s too untrustworthy defensively, has a poor reputation with head coaches, and is pretty self-interested. Ultimately, he\u2019s not the best option for them as they look to optimize the Victor Wembanyama<\/a> years.<\/p>\n

Still, there are several other franchises that could land a top-five pick in the upcoming draft.<\/p>\n

The Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets are in rebuilds as well. Among these teams, the Wizards and Nets are the most likely bidders for Young due to their need at point guard. Of those two options, Brooklyn is the only one in control of their 2025 first round pick.<\/p>\n

With Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler<\/a> expressing interest in signing with<\/a> the Nets next offseason, it could even enhance their desire to trade for Young. They could shave years off their rebuild with those two joining Nic Claxton<\/a>. However, Brooklyn hasn\u2019t had much success with their blockbuster moves, and may prefer to accumulate talent through the draft.<\/p>\n

2026 Is The Magic Number<\/h3>\n

In the end, the Hawks likely have to wait until 2026 if they want another lottery pick.<\/p>\n

Though they still wouldn\u2019t have their own first-rounder, Young\u2019s list of suitors could grow. Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard<\/a>, Dallas Mavericks guards Luka Doncic<\/a> and Kyrie Irving<\/a>, Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet<\/a>, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, Sacramento Kings guard De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a>, and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier<\/a> could all become free agents, creating a hole at the 1. Among those teams, the Heat, Thunder, Mavs, and Kings will control their own 2026 first-rounders. If Butler does leave Miami next offseason, theirs could be the most valuable.<\/p>\n

Yet, because Young has a player option for 2026-27, they\u2019d still be in between a rock and a hard place. The playmaker could become a free agent in 2026, signing with a new team outright rather than waiting to be traded. Indeed, he may prefer to take his destiny into his own hands, as many players do. If so, teams like the Los Angeles Lakers may even become realistic landing spots.<\/p>\n

The Best Solution<\/h3>\n

In the end, the Hawks\u2019 best option is to make a splash trade as soon as possible. By taking this path, they maximize Young\u2019s next couple of years, and give themselves a better chance to keep him after.<\/p>\n

Atlanta\u2019s players aren\u2019t too valuable to other teams. However, there are several stars who teams are ambivalent about<\/a>, but who could make a difference in the right situation. Right now, the most affordable options are likely Bulls wing Zach LaVine<\/a> and New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram<\/a>. In fact, the Bulls may even attach an asset to LaVine to move him in a trade.<\/p>\n

A Simple Question<\/h4>\n

LaVine and Ingram are scoring-minded players who have both averaged over 23 points per game over the past five seasons. They get theirs in different ways. LaVine loves to slash and shoot from deep. Ingram is a midrange maestro but can also knock shots down from 3.<\/p>\n

Yet, they\u2019re not considered winning players because they\u2019re not making a dynamic enough impact. They can make plays for others, but hold onto the ball too long. They could be better defenders, but don\u2019t play with enough effort. As a result, a number of teams believe LaVine is overpaid and that Ingram wants too high a salary in a contract extension.<\/p>\n

The Hawks could be one of those teams as well, but that\u2019s not important. What matters is whether acquiring LaVine or Ingram is a better option than keeping some combination of Clint Capela<\/a>, De\u2019Andre Hunter<\/a>, Larry Nance Jr.<\/a>, and Onyeka Okongwu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Frankly, it is.<\/p>\n

Not just because Hunter\u2019s career scoring average is nearly 10 points lower than what LaVine and Ingram have averaged in that time. With that being said, the Hawks will need somebody who they can count on offensively besides Young. Not just because having Capela, Okongwu, and Nance on the roster is unnecessary. To that point, though there are differences between the three, there\u2019s even more overlap.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s because of both of those issues. It\u2019s because of the conundrum they find themselves in with Young and the rebuild. Essentially, the Hawks don\u2019t have any perfect choices, but there\u2019s one that they clearly have to make.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though the Atlanta Hawks look like a franchise entering a rebuilding stage, there\u2019s one problem: they don\u2019t control any of their own first-round picks until 2028. Consequently, if the Hawks were to tank, it wouldn\u2019t benefit them. It wouldn\u2019t accelerate their rebuild. Instead, they\u2019d just be wasting more of Trae Young\u2019s prime. Of course, Young […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":93879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1608,6,8,62,556,33,34,4721],"tags":[308,4774,1349,457],"class_list":["post-93870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hawks","category-basketball","category-nets","category-bulls","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-pelicans","category-spurs","category-trade-rumors","tag-brandon-ingram","tag-rumors","tag-trae-young","tag-zach-lavine"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}