A couple of seasons ago, the Atlanta Hawks were the Cinderella story of the NBA as they had an amazing regular season and were able to make a strong showing in the playoffs too.
That wasn’t the case last season, as the Hawks struggled much more and didn’t make a dent in the postseason.
This year, the team is still far from perfect and currently stands as 8th in the East with a 16-16 record.
Rival executives "are of the belief" that Trae Young could be the next star player to request a trade if the Hawks don't make any progress come playoff time, per @ChrisBHaynes
Trae is under contract through the 2026-27 season but has an ETO after the 2025-26 season. pic.twitter.com/BJiMxoLYqc
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 22, 2022
This is leading to a major rumor floating around the Hawks, one that could substantially change the team for the foreseeable future.
Chris Haynes is reporting that rival executives within the league “are of the belief that Trae Young could be the next star player to request a trade if the Hawks don’t make any progress come playoff time.”
Young is currently under contract through the 2026-27 season but he has an early termination option after the 2025-26 season.
Just a few months ago, most people thought the Hawks could have yet another stellar season and now their lead player is toying with the idea of leaving it all behind.
So, what happened to the Hawks?
The Hawks Aren’t Soaring
The Hawks haven’t had the chemistry that fans were expecting after the team added Dejounte Murray in the summer.
Young was one of the biggest voices calling on the front office to acquire Murray which makes any rumor of him wanting to leave Atlanta ironic.
While Young has been producing 27.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 9.8 assists a game, his percentages are down a bit from last season and he’s not playing as well as he was last year.
He is currently shooting 41.1% from the field (down from 46% from last season) and 30.7% from the three (down 38.2% from last season).
Things better turn around for the Hawks soon or else their biggest player will want to fly away and explore other corners of the NBA.
