Kristaps Porzingis trade could be Hawks' last chance to build around Trae Young

For Atlanta, the trade could be a final stab at building a contender around Young, the No. 5 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft. The Hawks haven't won a playoff series since Young led them to an improbable run to the East Finals five seasons ago (2020-21). They also haven't had a winning record since 2021-22 and have missed the playoffs the past two seasons.

During the 2022 offseason, the Hawks traded four first-round picks to the San Antonio Spurs for guard Dejounte Murray, a move that failed to translate to on-court success. The Porzingis trade is a much smaller gamble, but it still represents another bet on Young.

The seven-year veteran is entering the final guaranteed season of a five-year, $215.2M extension he signed in August 2021. Young has a $48.967M player option for 2026-27 and is eligible for another extension this offseason.

In 2024-25, Young was the NBA's assist champion, averaging 11.6 per game, but also shot a career-worst 41.1%, with Atlanta finishing 40-42 and lost two Play-In Tournament games.

As former NBA assistant coach Steve Jones noted on social media, his pick-and-roll attack with Porzingis has the potential to be special. 

Per NBA.com data, Young led ball-handlers with 12.3 pick-and-roll possessions in 2024-25. Porzingis averaged 3.7 possessions per game as the pick-and-roll roll man, the eighth-most among players who appeared in at least 41 games. He averaged 1.27 points per possession, putting him in excellent company alongside Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (1.29), New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (1.26) and Dallas Mavericks power forward Anthony Davis (1.23).

The biggest question for Porzingis is whether he can stay healthy. He's missed 65 games the past two seasons and has failed to play at least 70 games every year since he was a rookie in 2015-16, including missing the entire 2018-19 season.

However, it's hard to argue against Porzingis, playing on an expiring contract this upcoming season, being worth the swing. But whether it leads to playoff success could determine how much longer the Hawks try to make Young the centerpiece of a title contender.