The Hawks have a massive game tonight; they’re taking on Miami for a spot in the playoffs. If they lose, they’ll play the winner of Toronto and Chicago, and if they win that, they’ll face the Milwaukee Bucks. However, they’re getting some tough reports at a bad time.
Kevin O’Conner of The Ringer reported everything is on the table, including trading Trae Young this offseason, but their superstar Trae Young insists he’s not focused on the noise:
There are rumors that Young could be moved, and when asked for comment, Young said this:
Indeed, a report Monday from The Ringer said the Hawks’ front office was given the green light to make any roster changes it sees fit, including potentially trading Young — the face of the franchise who is in Year 1 of a five-year, $215 million contract. Team owner Tony Ressler told The Athletic virtually the same thing last month.
“It could be false, could be true, you never know,” Young said following the Hawks’ shootaround in Miami, where they will play the Miami Heat on Tuesday in an Eastern Conference Play-In game.
“Especially as the player in the moment, you can’t look at what’s gonna come on next year,” Young said. “After the game, if the game doesn’t go your way tonight, what’s gonna happen? Like, you can’t focus on things like that. That messes up your head and then you’re not ready to play so, me, I’m not worried about that. I’m gonna let my game play. After the season, whatever happens, happens. I mean, I’m focused on the next task at hand. I can’t worry about the outside noise or whatever fake stories come out, or what’s true, whatever.”
I think this is a mature comment from Trae. I don’t think Quin Snyder came to Atlanta for a rebuild, and I don’t think the Hawks will trade Young. However, if they do explore trade packages, they shouldn’t settle for anything less than a king’s ransom.
Young brought a lot of life to a historically bad Hawks franchise, and he’s arguably already one of their three best players in franchise history.
I think the Hawks are best served by re-tooling the roster. The current personnel isn’t working, and they’re stuck with one foot in and one foot out. They have some pieces, but they need some overhaul before they get back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Photo: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
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