Hawks’ Trae Young won’t play vs. Raptors

The Atlanta Hawks have been trending in the wrong direction as of late. They have won their last two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks, but lost seven in a row before that. The Hawks stand in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with a 17-19 record.

Trae Young has not played since December 27 in a loss to the Knicks. In fact, he has only played in 10 games this season altogether. Young is going to miss the game against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

“The Hawks say Trae Young remains out for tonight’s game at Toronto,” per Marc Stein.

It’s been a tough season for the star point guard; there is no debating that. The Hawks have a talented roster, and Young has the ability to lead them to a playoff series win. We just haven’t seen it since 2021. On the season, Young is averaging 19.3 points on 41% shooting, 8.9 assists, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. He is scoring at the lowest rate since his rookie season, and his assists per game are also the lowest since his rookie season in 2018-19.

The Trae Young trade rumors are everywhere. After the Hawks dominated the Timberwolves, the rumors started to surface even more.

Jalen Johnson is emerging as a very good player, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has stepped up in a major way this season, averaging 20.4 points. Alexander-Walker’s previous career high was 12.8 points per game back in 2021-22. With Dyson Daniels, Vit Krejci, and Luke Kennard, if the Hawks are to be without Young for a long period of time, at least the Hawks have depth at the guard position.