Bleacher Report’s dream and realistic return for Hawks in a Trae Young trade

This may be one of the more depressing articles I’ve ever written for the Atlanta Hawks, and that says a lot.

This club has made wrong move after wrong move, whether it’s cost-cutting measures, holding on to trade chips too long, or overall dysfunction. The Hawks haven’t given their fan base much to cheer about since making the Eastern Conference Finals a few years ago.

That is supposed to change this offseason. Even though the Spurs hold a few of their first-round picks, the Hawks can still build around one of their All-Star point guards.

Trading one of Dejounte Murray or Trae Young to kick off the offseason seems likely, then it’s anyone’s best guess. Atlanta owns the No. 1 overall pick along with a slew of other trade chips to build around Murray or Young, but the potential return this offseason will dictate what the club will look like next season.

Bleacher Report paints an extremely sad picture of what the Hawks could get in return for Trae Young.

Realistic: Lakers’ Role Players and Draft Assets

The Atlanta Hawks’ most obvious path to dramatic change (and possible improvement) is the Trae Young move we’ve been speculating about for months.

And though he’d likely bring more back to the Hawks than a potential Dejounte Murray trade, his market may not yield a massive return.

For one thing, this summer’s trade market could include at least one other high-level guard, whether it’s Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland. The Western Conference playoff picture playing out the way it has could have the Los Angeles Lakers chasing size instead of offense and playmaking.

Still, if salary fodder and a couple picks winds up being all it takes to get Young, the Lakers will have to think about doing it. Despite his flaws, Young is an offensive star. And a two-man game with him and Anthony Davis would make for an interesting foundation post-LeBron.

Some of these trade hypotheticals that I’ve seen between the Hawks and Lakers make me laugh, but there is a reality where Atlanta doesn’t get the kind of return that you and I believe Young is worth.

With that being said, if the return is a couple of first-round picks at the end of the decade and Austin Reves, spare me. There’s no world in which Landry Fields and company should be selling low on a superstar like Trae Young.

Hell, even Bleacher Report’s “dream” is laughable.

Dream: Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and/or Nikola Jović

If, on the other hand, two or three teams get in on the Young sweepstakes and drive the price up, the Miami Heat’s young core pieces would be about as well as Atlanta could hope to do.

Tyler Herro has averaged at least 20 points in each of the last three seasons, already has a Sixth Man of the Year win and is only 24 years old. Jaime Jaquez Jr. is 23 and looks like he has real point forward upside. And soon-to-be-21-year-old Nikola Jović has high-end floor-spacing 4 potential.

Plugging two or three of those players into a rotation that already includes Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu could set up Atlanta for some sustainable success.

Are we joking? What world do we live in where Tyler Herro and a “high upside point forward” are the dream in a Trae Young trade? I mean, I seriously am asking. Am I crazy?

A Sixth Man of the Year winner and a developing piece is the “dream” trade package for an All-NBA talent that has led his team to the conference finals. Give me a break.