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Trae Young Landing Spots if Hawks Trade Star Guard This Offseason

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Young with LeBron/AD

Just James (at the max near $50 million), Davis and Young would total almost $136 million. Depending on how much salary and talent L.A. gives up to get Young, fleshing out the rest of the team may be a challenge.

Wemby/Trae in San Antonio

If the Spurs seriously want Young, they have much more to offer than the Lakers—unless the Hawks prefer some of the L.A.’s current players (Hachimura, Reaves, Russell, etc.) over straight-up draft compensation.

Nets Get Their Point Guard

The Nets also have several large trade exceptions ($20.4 million for Dinwiddie, $11.9 million for Joe Harris, $9.5 million for Royce O’Neale and $6.8 million for Patty Mills). None would help Young directly, but it could come into play in a multi-team trade and/or if the Hawks want to send out other players.

Are There Any Others?

Young doesn’t seem like a cultural fit for the Miami Heat. The Toronto Raptors will likely reinvest in Immanuel Quickley. The Hawks may genuinely struggle to find a wide net of suitors for their All-Star guard.

No Trade

However, the buzz around the NBA is that the Hawks will make more significant changes, starting with moving Young—provided there’s a market for the talented, diminutive scoring point guard.

3 reasons why Lakers should want to play Nuggets in first round

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1. Health

Despite Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt’s probable absences or limitations in a first round playoff series, the Lakers are otherwise at nearly full strength right now. Most importantly, LeBron is in a better place than he was last season when he truncated his recovery from a foot tendon injury to join in the Lakers’ 2022-23 resurgence.

2. Timing

In addition to their overall health, the Lakers are playing some of their best basketball of the season. Since the All-Star Break, when they were sitting at merely .500, the Lakers have gone 17-9, good enough for the sixth-best record in the NBA. Over the last two weeks, the Lakers have the fifth-best offense and the 14th-best defense in the NBA. Each of those marks is better than their season-long rating.

3. Leverage

If the Lakers can beat the Nuggets, they’ll likely head into every subsequent Western Conference series as a considerable favorite. Conversely, if the Lakers were to have to wait to finally face Denver in the Conference Finals, each preceding series win would be evaluated with the caveat that the Nuggets remain at large.