What is Trae Young’s trade value?

The Atlanta Hawks made their stance on Trae Young pretty clear this offseason when they chose not to sign him to the contract extension he was seeking. Instead, they decided to wait and see how the pieces mesh before committing long-term. Young has a $49 million player option for next season — one he’ll almost certainly decline in pursuit of a larger deal — but Atlanta’s performance without him this year has only made his future with the organization even murkier.

The Hawks were 1-3 before Young went down with a knee injury. Since then, they’ve won 12 of their last 19 games, largely because of a resurgent defensive effort. With Young on the floor, the Hawks have consistently been one of the league’s worst defensive teams. In his absence, they’ve played like a top-five unit — and the offense, which used to fall apart whenever Young wasn’t available, hasn’t been nearly as much of an eyesore thanks to guys like Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker thriving in expanded roles.

Young is expected to return from injury in the near future. The hope is that he’ll add even more fuel to what the Hawks are building, potentially turning them into a real contender in the Eastern Conference. After all, this is the same player who carried Atlanta to within two wins of the NBA Finals with a far weaker supporting cast. The narrative that Young can’t win has always had plenty of holes.

However, the Hawks at least have to be contemplating a future without Trae Young, and a conclusion to his tenure in Atlanta could come as soon as the trade deadline. Several trade hypotheticals, including a recent one from ESPN involving Giannis Antetokounmpo, feature Atlanta’s four-time All-Star point guard heading elsewhere. But how much trade value does Young actually have around the league right now?

According to a recent piece from Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks of ESPN, the answer appears to be… not much.

“I wouldn’t want any of them,” a Western Conference general manager told ESPN of Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, and Trae Young.

“They all might have negative value,” an Eastern Conference executive said.

Now, throwing Young in the same boat as Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball feels a bit disingenuous. Both Morant and Ball come with baggage that has nothing to do with basketball, and Young — for all his faults — has proven he can lead a team deep into the playoffs.

There are valid concerns about Young’s defense, and it’s fair to question whether he can be the primary option on a championship team. The fact that he will likely become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end also drags down his trade value. But his offensive skillset from the point guard position — both as a scorer and elite playmaker — remains second to none. There’s no questioning his competitive fire, and he’s already thrived in postseason environments.

If the Hawks decide to explore that path, it shouldn’t be difficult to find suitors for Trae Young at the trade deadline, even if the return might not be as grand as some fans in Atlanta would hope.