Sources: Trae Young Trade Market Remains Limited As Atlanta Hawks Explore Options
The Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young are increasingly headed toward a split ahead of the NBA trade deadline, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com, but leaguewide interest has been limited as teams weigh fit concerns and contractual risk. Young’s market has been slower to develop in part because Atlanta has shown it can remain competitive without him, while injuries have prevented the Hawks from establishing continuity when he has been available. Young has appeared in just 10 of 38 games this season.
In his absence, Atlanta has leaned heavily into ball movement and collective shot creation. The Hawks lead the NBA with 31.3 assists per game and rank first in points generated off catch-and-shoot opportunities. They are also among the league’s leaders in drives to the basket and assists created off those actions. Atlanta has gone 15-13 without Young this season, while being just 2-8 when he plays.
The Hawks have not had a meaningful opportunity to evaluate their intended lineup. According to Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta has logged just 59 possessions with the starting group it projected entering the season. Kristaps Porziņģis missed games immediately following the opener, as did Zaccharie Risacher. The team played only one game fully healthy before Young suffered his injury.
After Young returned, Atlanta went 0–5 during that stretch — part of the team’s worst seven-game skid this season — with Young logging approximately 24 minutes alongside Porziņģis. That lack of continuity has left Atlanta attempting to evaluate amid ongoing absences as the deadline approaches.
“We love Trae and what he does for us, and the things that he’s able to do as a playmaker are really unique,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said recently. “We’ve had to figure out how to generate advantages offensively in different ways.”
Defensive Trade-Offs and Contract Structure Weigh on the Market
Defensively, Young remains a focal point for opponents. According to Cleaning the Glass, teams score roughly 15 more points per 100 possessions when targeting Young defensively, with opponents’ effective field-goal percentage increasing by more than nine percent when he is on the floor.
Offensively, Atlanta benefits from his presence — Young accounts for 8.6 additional points per 100 possessions — but sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com that teams evaluating a trade have questioned whether that offensive boost offsets the defensive targeting required at a playoff level. Around the league, there has been a growing preference for size and two-way versatility, a shift that has further narrowed the market for smaller guards who can be targeted defensively.
Those concerns are compounded by Young’s contract. His nearly $49 million player option for the 2026–27 season introduces risk for potential suitors, as it carries significant implications for a team’s cap structure beyond this season if exercised. Given the current market and the absence of prior extension momentum, teams widely expect Young to exercise that option.
There is a sense that Atlanta would need to compensate a suitor for taking on Young’s contract in a potential trade, sources said. To what extent remains to be seen, though leaguewide, the perception is that any Young deal would be driven as much by future cap flexibility as by on-court considerations.
The Point Guard Market Has Been Unkind to Trae Young
As reported by Marc Stein, the Washington Wizards have emerged as a “legitimate potential trade destination.” In recent weeks, league sources have mentioned to DallasHoopsJournal.com about a potential use of expiring salary from the Wizards to add assets. C.J. McCollum, who is playing on an expiring $30.7 million salary, has remained a productive veteran guard at 34, positioning him as a viable option for a team to acquire for future salary relief without a painful short-term commitment. He has averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 34 games this season.
Looking beyond the Wizards, the trade market has become complicated for Young in recent years. For example, the San Antonio Spurs were previously a destination eyed by Young in the past before De’Aaron Fox was acquired from the Sacramento Kings, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com.
Additionally, teams that have recently been monitored as potential suitors in the point guard market in some capacity include the Kings, along with the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves. However, the market does not appear favorable for Young.
Without even factoring in concerns about a potential fit, financial constraints place the Timberwolves in a limited position to make a significant trade as the team seeks to add backcourt help for Anthony Edwards. Not to say a deal is impossible, but it would likely require some creativity.
Meanwhile, as the Kings continue to evaluate point guard options, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com that Young is among various star point guard trade candidates that are not targets for the organization. Sacramento has prioritized a more two-way skill-set under general manager Scott Perry.
The Kings have long tried to trade Zach LaVine‘s contract — even holding preliminary discussions with the Hawks early in the offseason regarding a trade centered around Young as a means to do so, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com. However, there were a few key issues, including Atlanta not wanting to take on LaVine’s contract, along with Perry’s disinterest in Young’s potential fit.
“The Kings do not want Trae,” one source said.
A previous team often linked to Young in speculation is the Brooklyn Nets, but the organization has registered zero signals that they have interest in pursuing him now. It has been emphasized to DallasHoopsJournal.com that the Nets are focused on building a culture that plays hard on both ends, and with an edge under head coach Jordi Fernandez and Young would not be a fit. A similar sentiment was shared about the Rockets under head coach Ime Udoka.
Washington Wizards’ Recent Efforts for a Point Guard
While it remains to be seen what the Wizards’ long-term view of Young would be if a trade were to occur, it is unclear whether Washington would be acquiring him as a foundational player or as an asset play. Under general manager Will Dawkins, Washington has largely used the backcourt to acquire players with diminished value — including Chris Paul and Jordan Poole — with the focus on asset acquisition.
At 9–25, the Wizards currently hold the fourth-best odds for the No. 1 pick while ranking 26th in offensive rating and 29th in defensive rating. With potentially over $80 million in cap space this summer, the Wizards could benefit from being compensated for using some of that spending power now to take on a significant contract. If Young landed in Washington, he would face an opportunity to lead a team with versatile young talent as he works to repair his value.
From a long-term perspective, Washington has been in search of an answer at point guard for quite some time. The Wizards conducted a significant amount of due diligence on the point guard position during the 2025 NBA Draft cycle, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com, but did not come away with one, leaving the need to address the position as they continue to build out their roster.
A notable attempt Washington made to add a point guard involved the top of the draft board. Sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com that the Wizards even offered any player on the roster to the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 2 pick, with the goal to gain positioning to draft Dylan Harper, but were rebuffed. With Harper unattainable, Washington passed on the chance to take a point guard when Jeremiah Fears was on the board by using a best player available approach, who they felt was Tre Johnson with Ace Bailey off the board at No. 5. Additionally, guard prospects the Wizards liked were off the board by the time the team was on the clock with the No. 21 selection.
Bub Carrington has shown developmental strides in recent weeks, but it remains to be seen if he’ll emerge as a legitimate long-term backcourt fixture. He’s averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 26.7 minutes per game, while shooting 40.1% from the floor, 43.1% from deep, and 69.6% on free throws. Some NBA scouts shared a belief with DallasHoopsJournal.com that Carrington is best-suited as an offensive threat capable of providing a spark coming off the bench.
Atlanta Hawks’ Connection to the Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks have been a key team to watch ahead of the midseason trade deadline with Anthony Davis‘ future looming large. However, there is a belief that the organization would ideally like to see how this roster looks with Davis, along with Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving on the floor together.
As Irving, who suffered an ACL tear on March 3, continues through the rehab process, Dallas has yet to receive the opportunity to evaluate how this talented trio can look together. He traveled with the Mavericks to Sacramento as the team began a three-game road trip, marking a positive sign as he continues his recovery process.
Various teams have been linked to Davis with varying degrees of trade interest throughout this process, including the Hawks, Golden State Warriors, and Toronto Raptors, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.com. However, rival teams have a natural hesitation to construct a robust trade package for Davis amid a season that has been impacted significantly by injuries, complicating the outlook for a potential deal.
A factor in Davis’ trade value is his looming contract extension eligibility in August. As DallasHoopsJournal.com has reported, he will seek a contract extension with whatever team he is rostered by come that eligibility time, including the Mavericks. He will soon be eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million deal. The team rostering him would surely need to be comfortable with making a significant financial commitment, and there isn’t motivation around the NBA to be in that situation.
It’s unclear if the Hawks could construct a multi-team structure in which Young lands in Washington while acquiring Davis from Dallas. Since it’s more likely that the Wizards would need to be compensated for taking on Young’s contract than vice versa, the Hawks could find themselves spending on both ends of that transaction during a season they sit 17-21 in such a scenario. Putting trade value aside — just from a pure financial standpoint — it would make a trade scenario easier.
Regardless, when speaking with DallasHoopsJournal.com, multiple members of rival front offices have questioned the value of trading away Young and using acquired flexibility to add a star on Davis’ timeline. He will be 33 in March with an immediate urgency to compete for a championship.
“Would you rather take on AD’s contract and have to pay him deep into his 30s, or have cap flexibility you can use after drafting a prospect with the Pelicans pick? That’s how I look at it,” one rival executive said. “Atlanta is on Jalen Johnson‘s timeline. They have a good group to build around him. Why rush to make a big trade when you have a losing record almost halfway through the season?”
Outside of Young’s situation, the Hawks have been linked to Davis, but their level of interest has long been described as “only for the right price,” sources tell DallasHoopsJournal.com. While Dallas would like to acquire young talent in the event of a trade involving Davis, such as Zaccharie Risacher, the leverage has not yet existed to achieve such a result with Atlanta.
Deadline Reality Sets In
With Young sidelined for a fifth straight game, the Hawks continue to balance incomplete on-court data with a cautious trade market and growing deadline pressure.
For now, both sides remain aligned on maintaining flexibility — even as the window for clarity continues to narrow.
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