Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have confirmed Shams Charania’s report that the Hawks are working with Trae Young and his representatives to find the 27-year-old point guard a new team.
As Amick reported last week, Atlanta has been increasingly willing to discuss Young trades for weeks or even months after the Hawks showed no interest in pursuing an extension, but the market for the four-time All-Star seems to be limited. According to Amick and Robbins, Young is searching for a new deal “commensurate with a star player.”
To illustrate the point about teams being wary of acquiring the diminutive point guard, Amick and Robbins cite a team source who says the Kings — long viewed as a potential landing spot for last season’s assists leader — have “no interest” in trading for Young. Zach LaVine, whose contract is very similar to Young’s, is “known” to have interest in joining the Hawks, the authors add.
Regarding Marc Stein’s report about the Hawks discussing a trade that would potentially send Young to Washington and CJ McCollum to Atlanta, Amick and Robbins note that Young doesn’t fit the archetype favored by the Wizards‘ top front office executives, and speculate that Washington might want either draft compensation or a young player to take on his contract, which includes a $49MM player option for next season.
Young missed his fifth straight game Monday due to a right quad contusion.
Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:
- Don’t expect Suns small forward Dillon Brooks to be on the move in the next month. Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark reported (via Twitter) on Monday that Phoenix isn’t interested in moving the veteran wing due to both his on- and off-court contributions. Suns owner Mat Ishbia essentially confirmed as much just a few minutes later. On FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link), former NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins said he if were running the Lakers, he would trade Austin Reaves for Brooks “in a heartbeat.” Ishbia’s response? “Don’t bother calling… Suns aren’t interested. Dillon’s not going anywhere,” he wrote (Twitter link).
- Amick, Josh Robbins and John Hollinger of The Athletic discuss the biggest storylines and questions ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, noting that Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s situation with the Bucks is the one that holds the most intrigue around the league. All three think Antetokounmpo is more likely than not to stay put during the season, though that would depend on whether the two-time MVP requests a trade. Other topics include whether Anthony Davis will be traded by the Mavericks and role players who could appeal to contending teams. Hollinger lists Wizards forward Justin Champagnie as an example of a player on a team-friendly contract who could be a valuable in-season addition.
- Speaking of Davis, he and Kyrie Irving wanted to play together for years before it finally came to fruition last February, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. However, the Mavericks duo only played two-and-a-half quarters together prior to Davis suffering a left adductor strain. Less than a month later, Irving tore his ACL, and there’s no timeline for his return. Whether they’ll be able to team up again before the season ends is an open question with Dallas expected to listen to offers for Davis, Clark adds.
“…Young doesn’t fit the archetype favored by the Wizards‘ top front office executives…” Thats the feeling I had when I was seeing his name floated around as being of interest to the Wizards. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a profitable pairing between both sides. Trae is certainly the type of exemplary guard that the Wiz really need. Right now our best pg’s are Kyshawn (who is a point/forward with plenty of ceiling but still needs seasoning) and Bub Carrington who nails 3’s and can distribute the rock but is also prone to silly/recklessly aggressive turnovers and really needs to improve on defense. Outside of those two guys, Tre Johnson and Will Riley are both rookies, receiving inconsistent playing time and subsequently produce inconsistently.
In the short term a trade for Young makes sense to me as the young players with potential play making and ball handling skills get first hand experience with an extremely skilled pg. Long term, does Trae fit in with the timetable in which you intend to compete? I can see both a yes and no answer to that question. You will still definitely need more to add to the team overall for Trae to be the finishing touches to a competitive team. However, lets say you bring him in and you still end up further from competitive play than you would’ve hoped. He’s still pretty young and still an outstanding player. His value on the trade block realistically wont diminish barring unforeseen circumstances.
All in all, theres plenty to be considered if my Wizards are genuinely interested, but I think its a decent gamble to make.
They say Trae’s archetype doesn’t fit the favor of their top management but keep in mind Travis Schlenk is the guy that drafted Trae Young & he’s the senior VP of player personnel for the Wizards. So clearly he liked Trae’s archetype at some point.
It really could be one of those situations where its just a match made in heaven or the old both parties can benefit from each other without a long term commitment. Not an easy call to make for either side but I think for the Wizards, this is probably the best potential return for McCollum you’re going to find, whether Trae is willing to stick around long term, merely exercise his option for next year, or perhaps is dealt again at some point. I still stand by that Trae is the type of pg this team needs though. There’s just a lot of variables involved.
link to yardbarker.com
Kyrie & AD woulda been an incredible pairing & they had a great squad around them to support them but the same thing could be said about Kyrie & Nolan Smith, Kyrie & Anthony Bennett, Kyrie & Jaylen Brown, Kyrie & Harden/KD, Kyrie & Luka, etc… link to youtube.com
Trae to the Bucks, thats all I will say
Don’t know what’s more laughable, you’d give up AR for Brooks or the Suns owner saying don’t bother hahahaha
AR is probably a top 10 offensive player/scorer and Brooks is probably about the 15-20th best two way player. AR is an all star level guy and Brooks won’t ever reach that level. I like both players and I can see where both are coming from slightly. AR with Luka and Bron I don’t think that’ll ever work but there’s much better value out there if you trade him. As for the Suns AR probably isn’t a great fit for them either with Booker and Green then Allen and so on but he’s easily the better player.
I think that trade would be more about the lakers recognising that they’re not going to contend with 3/5 of their starting 5 being below average defenders. They wouldn’t need brooks to be anything more than the 3rd option of offense, which he’s shown he’s capable of. I’m not a brooks guy, but give him credit for being a positive influence on his last 2 teams when he looked like he was going to be the worst version of draymond.
Like I said I’m a fan of brooks but if your giving up AR your going to get back a lot more than Brooks
I would argue every team he has been on has benefitted from his presence. Look at Memphis since he left. It matches up perfectly with them falling apart. Not saying that is all him but combined with what has happened on the other teams he has played for since, I think it is safe to say his departure didn’t help Memphis.
How the current NBA is setup its better to be a two way guy than just a one sided player in my opinion. AR should be considered for the suns and probably has better long term value. Having booker already in the backcourt would just create the same issues the lakers are having in limited defensive players on perimeter.
What does archetype even mean here. Wizards don’t have a real PG. He is arguably the best passing PG in the L. Wizards have no clue what that means. With Sarr there. They can handle Traes D better than most teams. Trae can elevate this team right away. You got two yrs to decide to sign him or not. And if you get him cheap. He’s well worth it.
This is what I’m saying, the Wiz’ best pg is actually a point/forward in Kyshawn George, which is great if you can be that kind of player. But he is a second year player (who has made big improvements but is still needing to make more) and the only other true(ish) pg is Bub Carrington who is still very young and also still very flawed with his turnovers and not good defense. Everyone else on the roster with some pg(ish) potential is super young and super unrefined, i.e. AJ Johnson/ Tre Johnson/ Will Riley. And none of those guys really have potential long term at the point from what I’ve seen. At best they are “hey we can distribute the ball a little bit.” Realistically theres not much to lose trying to acquire Trae for McCollum and whatever it takes to balance salaries etc. Its the move to make whether you only look at it short term or even in the long term in my opinion.
Sarr won’t “handle Trae’s D”. Teams have tried to hide small guards for years behind a good front court and it just doesn’t happen. There’s only so much you can do to cover up for a guy who’s as bad as Trae.
He can pass, elite passing skills. That’s it – the rest is a negative.
You know what a rim protector does. Do you know what happens in Cleveland behind Garland. Good team is easiest to achieve with a rim protector. A small guard doesn’t have to hide. He just has to play his position. Knowing he has someone watching the middle. Makes the offensive player think twice about going by his defender. Sarr is the kind of center. Who can be a premier rim protector.
For years huh ?????? Rim protectors have been around since day one.
Even though todays game. is not as heavily played defensively. A rim protector is still used cause to win in playoffs and tough games. You have to make stops. So if your great offensive player. Beeds help on D. That’s how you do it. Its the simplest way.
Do you know who CP3 is. And what he did for Clippers centers …. Its as old as NBA.
What’s a rim protector going to do against a perimeter shooter that Trae can’t close space on? What’s a rim protector going to do against the 15-footer coming off a screen Trae can’t get past? What’s a rim protector going to do when the opposition knows there will be a rotation after he has to leave his man to cover a driving guard?
Defense goes so far beyond the guy within 6 feet of the hoop. Rim protectors matter but they aren’t covering the massive issues Trae has. Stop it. Please watch some basketball.
When you learn tge game. You will find answers. I don’t have the time to school you.
A rim protector makes it possible to have perimeter defense. You must be a 2K baby. The day you learn this is a 2way sport. You will see what a rim protector can do.
Trae wants an extension, near max. Wizards don’t want to pay him long term. trading for him for the rest of the season and then he opts out doesn’t help the Wizards at all.
I wouldn’t give AD away. What I would do. Is make him put on more muscle. Get better conditioning tear round. And make sure he only plays PF. Unless they get a good offer. I wait till next year. I might even shut him down to tank for a pick.
Kyrie and Luka were the best duo ever. Fire Nico again.
Trae Young thinks he’s a star but he’s only a good 3rd option and should shoot half the shots he takes and pass twice as much.
Good luck facing the reality that beating the 76ers once in the playoffs doesn’t make you a star.
I think that’s a little harsh, he’s led the league in assists a lot of the years he’s played and always put up numbers. Led the lead in offensive contributions at least one season maybe 2 and is a 25 and 10 player with ease that makes players around him look better.
Offensively he’s one of the best players in the league. His issue is that he’s terrible the other end. It’s like saying “you can have this guy that will give you easy buckets for the whole team and make you a top offensive threat, but you’ll always be defending with 4 guys” it just don’t work.
The only way he’ll work out is with a team of athletic lengthy defensive minded players who can switch and cover the void he leaves. Like Rockets, Raps or Orlando etc. but I doubt any go for him. It’s a shame because he’s a great player but no one wants a defensive liability. But I still think someone will take the risk because his talent is clearly there, just not a contender.
He is not one of the best offensive players in the league. He takes a ton of bad shots and scores very inefficiently. Putting up numbers does not equate to being great or even good.
I agree he’s got poor efficiency but it was previously put down to his large amount of 3s at “reasonable %”(which I don’t agree with). But I’m stating statistically he was leader of the league at least once with Jokic sitting 2nd, and I’m sure he was over the course of 3 seasons (I think 20-21 to 22-23) resulting in most points from a player. He’s not a shot chucker with no return.
The guy gets results, and over those 3 years he was statistically the “best” offensive player if we like him or not. And has consistently been a top 2 passer in the league so yes he is one of the best on paper.
Would I take him? No. Are there at least 10 guards I prefer? Yes but offensive he’s better than most of them by way of statistics. Calling him bad is harsh. He’s a great player….. one way.
DeMarcus Cousins said he if were running the Lakers, he would trade Austin Reaves for Brooks “in a heartbeat.”
– That’s why Cousins isn’t a GM.
I think the deal gets done. They’re just quibbling about draft compensation at this point. Atlanta is also probably scouting around to see if they can re-direct McCollum elsewhere in a secondary trade.
Washington wants to delay this right up to the deadline in hopes that it won’t affect their draft position.
For the Wiz, this gets them some value in return for an expiring, which they will hope to do again next year with Young. Also insures that they won’t have to make any unnecessary moves to reach the salary floor for awhile.
I think you nailed the logic of why Washington is interested. People arguing about Trae’s fit, they will find out when he plays. I don’t think they care immensely if it works out on the court. That would be a bonus.