Trae Young Will Not Extend With the Atlanta Hawks Before The 2025-26 Regular Season

For some reference, the last maximum extension deal that got done during the regular season was the three-year, $186 million dollar supermax extension that Giannis Antetokounmpo signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in November of 2023. Young won't be signing a deal of that magnitude - he is eligible for a four-year, $229 million contract extension. However, it bears repeating that deals of this enormity rarely happen after the season has already started. It's much more common for teams to wait until the offseason to handle those extensions. That opens up a variety of possibilities for what happens next between Young and the Hawks.

It is almost a guarantee that Young will still suit up for the Atlanta Hawks during the 2025-26 season. Barring a completely unexpected move, his salary of $46 million will be on Atlanta's cap sheet for 2025-26 because there are very few players that make enough money to be traded for him. After the season, all bets are off if there's no agreed-upon extension.

In the summer, Young has a $49 million player option in 2026-27. He can decline the option and become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. Now, it is also possible that Young picks up the option and returns to the Hawks. That would delay the necessity to work out a long-term extension until the summer of 2027-28. It might also be helpful for Young to pick up the option if he wants to be traded from Atlanta. James Harden famously did this when he was on the Philadelphia 76ers and made the situation uncomfortable enough to eventually force his way to the Los Angeles Clippers. Would Young take a move out of the same playbook? It's unlikely, but certainly not impossible.

The problem with not signing Young is two-fold. The obvious one is that the Hawks don't have a franchise player that can take the reins from him. Jalen Johnson is an incredibly promising player and could be an All-Star if he stays healthy, but there's still a large gap between his current abilities and Young's floor. They might be able to land one of Darryn Peterson or Mikel Brown by way of the first-round pick that they got in the Derik Queen trade, but there's no guarentee that the Pelicans are bad enough to get Atlanta within spitting distance of those two incredible guard prospects.

Young is also central to the current lineup Atlanta has. Zaccharie Risacher, Dyson Daniels and Kristaps Porzingis are players that become maximized because of Young's incredible playmaking gravity. Removing him from the equation runs contrary to the moves that the Hawks have made in recent seasons.

This isn't to say that Trae Young will definitely finish his career outside of Atlanta. However, the relationship between the Hawks and their star point guard is something that bears watching throughout the season. Another year of missing the playoffs or getting drummed out of the first round in embarrassing fashion could be the final nail in the coffin of the Trae Young era in Atlanta.

More Atlanta Hawks News:

Atlanta Hawks vs Houston Rockets: Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Atlanta Hawks Request Waivers On Former Saint John's Standout Guard

Hawks vs Rockets: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Preseason Matchup

Could Keegan Murray's Extension be a Sign of Things To Come For Dyson Daniels?