Lakers may have 'cooled off' on pursuit of three-time All-Star guard

Trae Young has seemingly gone from a coveted third star to an afterthought for the Lakers.

A year or so ago, several insiders suggested that the Lakers were willing to trade any player on the roster save for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to put together a Big Three involving Young. 

With just a few months to go for the 2024-25 season, though, the Lakers have reportedly "cooled off" on their interest in Young, per ESPN's Zach Lowe.

"If the Lakers were going to offer all of their [tradeable] picks [2029 and 2031] including now Dalton Knecht, and some other good stuff, Trae Young could be on the Lakers right now," Lowe said on his "Lowe Post" podcast. "Those deals haven't happened. I've heard teams have cooled off on him, and here we are."

Lowe pointed to Young "feeling out of place" on a Hawks franchise likely entering a rebuild after trading Dejounte Murray and drafting Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft.

It's one of the worst-kept secrets in NBA circles that Young is available via trade, but several teams have hesitated to bid for the Hawks guard due to his hefty contract. The 25-year-old has three seasons left on the five-year, $215 million extension he signed with the Hawks in 2021. 

Beyond Young, Murray and Donovan Mitchell were previously earmarked as potential Lakers targets for this summer. With two of those players now unavailable — Mitchell signed a long-term extension with the Cavaliers and Murray found a new home in New Orleans — Young could be the Lakers' last hope to add star power ahead of the 2024-25 season. 

During the past campaign, Young averaged 25.7 points and a career-high 10.8 assists/