Atlanta Hawks Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets NBA Sacramento Kings

Three Teams That Must Avoid Trae Young Deal Amid Trade Rumors

James PierceyJanuary 1, 2026January 17, 2026

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Ryan Russillo recently suggested that “guys don’t like playing” with the Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young. That doesn’t necessarily come as a shock. Young’s talent is undeniable. Unfortunately, he’s also among the most ball-dominant players in the NBA.

Unless you love spacing the floor, that might not appeal to you as an NBA player. Coupled with Young’s porous defense, we have a player profile that doesn’t necessarily make for an ideal teammate.

Perhaps that’s why the Hawks have been rumored to be shopping him for, roughly, forever. Lately, those rumors are heating up.

Here are three teams that don’t need to take a swing on Young.

Houston Rockets

Sure, the Houston Rockets could use a point guard. Their 16.5% Turnover Percentage ranks second-last in the NBA. Houston’s offense can appear rudimentary and disorganized despite its third-ranked 121.5 Offensive Rating.

Yet, there it is — the Rockets hold the third-best Offensive Rating in the NBA. The Rockets are playing well, and acquiring Young would force them to overhaul their whole approach. This is a team that ought to be tinkering at the margins.

The Rockets shouldn’t be taking ball-handling/playmaking reps away from Alperen Şengün, Reed Sheppard, and Amen Thompson. They could target a ball-handler who would lighten their load, but they don’t need a player like Young who’d eliminate it entirely.

If they’re shopping for a point guard, they should look elsewhere.

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings’ case is different from the Houston Rockets’. It’s not that they couldn’t use Young. Instead, it’s that they shouldn’t be in the market for star players at all. The Kings should be in the market for first-round draft picks.

They won’t be easy to get. This roster is bereft of players with high trade value. Yet, the market for Young is also tepid. Acquiring him would exacerbate the Kings’ problem. They need to turn their focus away from difficult-to-move fringe stars and towards a top-down teardown.

With the league’s second-worst Offensive Rating (108.7), the Kings have bigger issues than Young can solve. Surrounding him with midrange maestros and other ball-dominant stars won’t get them where they need to be — it’s time for the Kings to rebuild.

Dallas Mavericks

In a sense, you could say that the Sacramento Kings need to find their Cooper Flagg. The Dallas Mavericks are blessed to have landed “the guy.” Now, they need to make the right moves to maximize his career.

Interestingly, Dallas started the year trying to run Flagg as a point guard. It didn’t look like it was working, and they lessened his playmaking duties.

Now, Flagg looks like the guy everyone knew he’d be heading into the draft: a future superstar.

The Mavericks don’t need to pair him with a heliocentric guard. They also don’t need to bring in Young to jeopardize the defense-first culture they pledged when they traded Luka Dončić.

Instead of rushing to compete with Flagg in the fold, Dallas should make sure it has the right pieces around Flagg — and Young isn’t the right piece.