Hawks rumors: Insiders predict active trade activity regardless of Trae Young

After a disappointing loss in the Play-In, the Atlanta Hawks seemingly have a busy offseason ahead.

For a second consecutive year, the Hawks’ season ended in the Play-In, extending their playoff series win drought to four years. And with the firing of Landry Fields, a new general manager is coming, which could mean a partial or complete overhaul of Atlanta’s roster.

While it remains to be seen if the new executive decides to trade star point guard Trae Young, Atlanta reportedly will be making some moves regardless of Young.

“Whether the Hawks do or don’t prove open to fielding trade interest in Young this offseason, they do project as a team likely to be active,” The Stein Line’s Marc Stein and Jake Fischer wrote.

“The reason: Atlanta has a relatively clean cap sheet. Depending on the free agency outcomes for Clint Capela, Caris LeVert and Larry Nance Jr., Atlanta should have significant flexibility to absorb salary via trades in the role of facilitator this summer.”

Young, if he remains in Atlanta, would seemingly fit well next to some of the team’s youngest pieces; both Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels have proven to be effective and complementary players, and 2024 first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher showed potential in his rookie season.

Still, the Hawks have a lot of room to improve upon their roster. Besides Young, Atlanta has not had an All-Star since 2017, and its acquisitions of potential star talent, namely Dejounte Murray, fell flat and set the franchise back. Before this past season, the Hawks traded Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Daniels, Nance, and draft capital.

In 2021, Atlanta made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in six years, pushing the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks to six games. Since then, however, the Hawks have failed to win a playoff series; in 2022, they lost 4-1 in the first round to the Miami Heat before losing in six games the following season to the Boston Celtics.

Each of the past two seasons has ended in the Play-In for Atlanta, which lost to the Chicago Bulls in 2024 and lost both Play-In games to the Orlando Magic and Heat this season.