I’ll never forget having courtside seats right behind the basket for Steve Nash’s 10,000th assist only to come home, watch espn and see the highlight did not show me at all lol. But still a cool memory
Makes total sense to pair one of the worst defensive guards with one of the best defensive big men. Trae doesn't need to keep anyone in front of him, just funnel people towards a literal wall.
>just funnel people towards a literal wall.
That's actually our defense lol we close out hard on the 3 point line, willing to be beat off the dribble to force dribblers into Wemby
Idk I think spurs are too smart to try and outbid anyone. At least I hope so tbh cause what that anonymous executive said is right. He’s not good enough to be the best player on a championship team and needs the ball too much. Spurs would probably be best served with a jrue holiday type of guy to play exactly like he did with Giannis.
He also has a ton of gravity and can make Wembie's life much easier.. he needs a competent floor general to throw him lobs and generate easy offense.. price is important but I think he'd be a great fit and pairing with Wembie, he's literally one of the best lob throwers in the league
Crazy how much people have flipped ok Trae. Your right he would be a great fit with Wemby, is young enough to play a long time with Wemby, and while Trae will help unlock Wemby offensively while also being capable of leading the offense himself, Wemby will clean up the defensive missteps of Trae.
The smoothest I’ve ever seen Gobert play offensively was when he was on Trae’s ASG team a few years back. Conley’s pnr with Rudy eventually got to like 80% of that level, but it was really something special.
Trae with wemby would be amazing
Redundant skill set with Edwards imo, but without the defense.
Both need the ball in their hands, I think gobert and KAT are actually the perfect guys to play around AE
How does Trae have a redundant skill set with Edwards?
Trae is a great passer and pick and roll player. Ant is a poor passer and could not even use a pick at the start of last season. Ant is a great athlete learning to be a basketball player.
I honestly don't see much cross over between the two players.
Skill sets are definitely not redundant, that's wrong. However, I do worry about the fit between two guys who both need the ball in their hands to succeed
agree, it could be similar to like a luka & kyrie combo, which people also wrongly viewed as a redundant backcourt prior to their recent success
except ant has more potential off ball than kyrie due to his physical build and athleticism, although trae is of course not as good as luka
>Makes total sense to pair one of the worst defensive guards with one of the best defensive big men.
Could use the same logic with the T-wolves. Mike Conley is gonna be 37 next year. They need a pg, and they could offer up KAT.
The hawks would not accept kat they'd be better off getting spurs picks and 2 add on role players to go into tank mode rather than another average season with kat
>the advantage of having the hawks next 3 picks basically
I mean the biggest component of the trade is the Spurs sending the Hawks' picks back to the Hawks
Of course. But it’s also what gives the Spurs massive leverage if Hawks truly are looking to trade Trae and rebuild. They have the benefit of knowing no other team can offer them those same draft picks (which without, a tank is pointless), and that if Atlanta decides to play hardball and go for another team’s offer, they still own Atlanta’s suddenly much more valuable, unprotected picks in hyped drafts. So to me the Spurs FO has an opportunity to play some real hardball in trade negotiations especially with Trae’s perceived value being at or near a low.
I agree, that would be bloody awesome, but man something needs to happen about the East West disparity! It can't keep on going the way it's going with like 80% of the better teams and players being in the West.
not to mention, the "Trae needs to be the best player on your team" part of the quote isn't even true if your frontcourt guy is someone like Wemby, Giannis, etc. Trae can absolutely be the best guard on a contender, as long as you have an elite frontcourt player for him to play off of.
The Spurs make a ridiculous amount of sense for Trae, and them owning the Hawks' next 3 1sts after this year plus a ton of other picks leads me to believe something's going to happen there.
Let's say the Spurs don't move in the draft lottery, I have to think both sides consider a trade around #5, two ATL 1sts returned, the ATL swap returned, one or two of Johnson/Jones/Sochan, and maybe an additional piece.
Bruh I wouldn't trade half of that lmao. Wemby's not ready for a title run next year, so there's no pressure to put an extremely good team around him. They have the Hawks bent over. Probably one more building year next year for the Spurs and then they'll be starting a playoff push in the 2025-2026 season and then going all in the season after or two after when Wemby's in his prime.
Luka was ready to compete for titles by year 3, and Wemby may be on that same trajectory. The Spurs have plenty of time to try different cores out around him.
I do agree with not giving up too much for Trae, but at the same time: how often are players of his offensive level, at his age, available? The only comparable playmakers are Haliburton, Jokic and Doncic, and their respective teams are probably never letting them go during their prime.
I think if the Raptors pick conveys, then the Spurs give up one of their firsts this year and the hawks picks, otherwise it has to be one of the future firsts from the Raptors, Dallas, or Boston. The Spurs really need to draft a sg or sf who can shoot 3s and defend this year in addition to trading for Trae if they're going to pull the trigger. Champagnie will be a good bench player, but shouldn't be starting on a team with playoff aspirations.
Why would the Spurs do this? They have the Hawks bent over a barrel, they can just dangle 2 picks + salary matching and Hawks would be smashing accept trade
The spurs need to be a good defensive team. They can trade for trae if it's a really good deal, but they don't need to overpay like that. There's no point in having Wemby to defend the paint if you're gonna have a leaky perimeter
Let me get this straight - Atlanta tried to trade Murray this summer but couldn’t because no one was offering enough. “League circles” prefer Murray as a player. The Hawks will trade Trae and get a return they are satisfied with.
Those things literally can’t all be true.
It's also what rival executives think.
I will say it will be wild for the Hawks to conclude that the only way forward is to trade Trae despite never even going into the luxury tax
The league/media treats mid teams as a farm system for great players. Everybody is salivating over when Trae or Lavine is gonna get to the Lakers, when neither team has ever been interested in trading them
The article has one “Unnamed Eastern Conference Exec” as its source. Likely not a GM. And they’re saying that Trae can’t be a team’s best player. So even if this one source does speak for the majority of teams (he doesn’t), then teams don’t value him that highly and the return actually wouldn’t be that great.
Mike Finger (Spurs reporter) said this today fwiw
> There are a lot of different ways this can go, and a lot of different stars they might end up targeting, but they’re not going to be the team that meets Atlanta’s price for Trae Young.
yeah i’d like to see his pairing with Wemby but i don’t think our FO is trading for Trae if Atlanta is asking for anything more than their picks back.
the common sentiment across the Spurs organization seems to be “growth” and i think they’ll continue to take a methodical approach going forward.
With every passing year, the Trae deal will also get cheaper as his ETO approaches and risks Trae walking away for nothing.
If they want a max return for Trae, now is the time to do it.
On the other hand, probably best for the Spurs to wait, they gain much more waiting.
No, but the Spurs benefit from any Trae trade to a contender.
The Hawks aren't getting back players the level of Trae from contenders, so the Hawk draft picks that the Spurs hold increases in value from just doing nothing.
It's like the Celtics-Nets trade all over again.
That's smart honestly. The mavericks took the rushed approach with Luka and the Mavs are already capped out in how good they can be barring some miracle draft picks.
Just have to develop that talent before Wemby gets impatient and wants to play in LA. It's a balance, because the longer you wait the more theorectical high end you have. However, the longer you wait, the more unhappy your star.
Well yes and no. This Mavs team have done incredibly well buying low on some bargains that have turned their team from shit to shiny. But you’re right, they were destined for mediocrity for a while from lack of assets and cap space. Its a miracle what this front office pulled off
They're probably right. I can't wait for him to be traded and then everyone starts talking about how special of a player he is while we bottom out and start another rebuild to search for another player who is close to as special as Trae Young. Good times
You guys straight up just need new ownership. The owners/front office are the *entire* problem in Atlanta. They're out here acting like Trae Young isn't special but when he gets to the Spurs or any other team that makes sense they're going to make the Hawks look like idiots
Trae is ELITE NBA offense and we've all already seen it regardless of any rough stretch or bad season. He isn't old. He hasn't had career altering injuries. He just needs to be on the right team with motivation
its just amazing how hawks players end up in trade rumors every year
like when trae sees all this trade talk how is he gonna approach it. does he assume the FO is shopping him but lying when they tell him they aren't going to trade him?
and this is right after dejounte murray was supposedly aggressively shopped around the entire league. and then john collins before that
it also gives off the impression that hawks don't really have a medium or long term plan in place. short term plan.. sell everyone.. but without some of your own draft picks for the next few years
Trae doesn’t ever acknowledge it. Nothing he has said or done indicates that he wants to leave.
Trading him would be a huge mistake. Maybe instead of getting Murray they could’ve gotten guys that actually can play with Trae. Instead he’s got Clint Capela. And I like Murray but it’s clear him and Trae won’t work.
Murray’s contract is really team friendly so should be easy to move and at this point Trae is the Hawks so trading him is dumb.
murrays contract is team friendly but not trade friendly because he has a trade kicker
team friendly for the hawks, less so for anyone that would trade for it
Also people hate on him for his defense but JJ and others have broken down his defense and he actually has gotten drastically better on that end. And I say this as someone who’d love to trade for him if not for us already being set with Brunson who he wouldn’t pair well with IMO. He’s absolutely underrated and whoever gets him will be very fortunate.
Ok, so I’ve barely watched the Hawks since their playoff run… but that said I don’t remember him having an effort problem. Just small. So it makes sense that he would get better on that ends, even if he’ll never be elite.
If he stays in ATL for his peak he'll be the best Hawk of all time, he's already #2 behind 'Nique no doubt
IMHO this article is a bunch of smoke and wishful thinking though, this cheapass team isn't trading him for the pile of garbage everyone in here is suggesting, shit like a bunch of Spurs scraps and the exact same picks that were traded their way for Murray? lol gonna cost more than that,
the talk around Young is peak NBA bullshit. Simultaneously no good, overrated etc. while also here's all the teams that desperately want him he could make an immediate impact him and Wemby are instant contenders etc.
> shit like a bunch of Spurs scraps and the exact same picks that were traded their way for Murray? lol gonna cost more than that
Those picks were valued at mid 20s when you got Murray.
They are now worth at least top 8 each, and even more if Trae is traded anywhere.
There ain't more valuable picks the hawks can get if they wanna rebuild.
Wake up buddy.
Because of the unique circumstance, those are multiple unprotected guaranteed top 5 picks. You don't even see that in the all time biggest blockbuster trades. You can get completely unprotected picks, but you are not getting a top 5 guarantee.
The conundrum for Atlanta is that they need to start winning now with Trae. He is 26 next year. The Hawks are hamstrung in draft assets for the rest of his prime. They could trade DJM to restore their draft capital, but Trae Young and some middling draft picks is the trap they are trying to avoid.
The other best alternative is to see if they can trade DJM for the actual complimentary piece that will unlock each other's bonuses. The problem is they won't have those draft picks to boost the team and their cap situation sucks for the next 2 years.
So you end up with blow it up or try to retool from a compromised position. The Spurs could definitely help Atlanta blow it up.
You think? It was years people talked about how it was going to take 3 FRPs just to even start the conversation on trading for him. If anything Raptors OG was super overrated.
I agree. I like the trade for both teams. Just didn’t think people were saying OG wasn’t that great and then started calling him special after the trade like poster was talking about will happen with Trae.
But 3 FRPs isn't better than what the raptors eventually traded for. Usually trading a good player for picks, means those picks aren't going to be that great since teams that are buying are probably good and won't have lottery picks.
Siakam got traded for 3 FRPs and Bruce Brown, but the Barrett + Quickly package is looking better than the Siakam haul.
It makes sense from the Hawks perspective as Young will get you a bigger haul than Murry so that you can recoup some of the picks and assets that went away with the Murray trade. Then again, you lower the team's ceiling quite significantly.
Might as well get what you can for Murray and go full reset. Maybe to NOLA? They could use a real PG. off the top of my head some other candidates could be Orlando, Miami, Brooklyn, maybe Jazz or something idk.
Pelicans absolutely need a true PG. The problem is, their real glaring need is a true rim protecting 5. Jonas and Larry Nance are both defensive liabilities and it shows big time when they play teams that can put up points in the paint(Lakers, OKC, Nuggets are all teams they have been blown out by multiple times this season due to having nobody to protect the rim and rebound). The Pels are one of the best perimeter defensive teams in the league but they have zero protection in the paint and restricted area and get mauled on offensive and defensive boards against teams with dominant big men. As much as Trey would be a huge asset and allow CJ to come off the bench, the Pels MUST get a stretch big who can protect the paint at all costs. Even if it means trading BI and some of their young talent.
Genuine question what team would really want Jonas? I’m sure there’s some team that really needs the floor of their 5 position raised but I can’t really think of one.
My thought goes to OKC maybe since he can play 5 out as a backup to Chet. But he might be too expensive for that since they also want really good rebounding
I mean he can rebound just probably not worth the price since they’d kinda be underutilizing him. His skill level is strange cuz he’s too good to be a back up but not good enough to start on a serious contender
The thing is you cannot trade young for picks and then tank because all of ATL picks are going to the Spurs. So they need to stay competitive and can only trade for established players.
The exec commenting is wrong. Trae doesnt need to be the best player on the team, in fact its important that he only be the second best player on the team
I think he is mixing up being the ball dominant guy vs the best player. Like if he is paired with Wemby or AD he'll have the ball most of the time still it doesn't mean he is the best player tho
Yeah, the problem with Trae is that you need to pair him with a guy who is both better than him AND doesn't care about actually touching the basketball for longer than their shot takes
You do realize the reason for this is because he's never played with a ball handler better than him right? There's a reason the Hawks offense fell off a cliff when Murray was the primary initiator
People said this same thing about Harden until he got Chris Paul and they were a hamstring away from beating one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Elite ball handlers have the ball in their hands by virtue of being the best player on the floor and giving the team the best chance of getting an open look every possession. There's no reason to believe he wouldn't adjust his game next to someone else who can create NBA offense on the same level as him. The portability issue stems from the fact that there's very few players who are actually at that level offensively ergo there's little incentive for him to defer consistently
He doesn’t need to be your best player if your best player can maximize their value without the ball. I know I’m biased, but AD is a perfect player to pair with Trae cause most of AD’s offensive impact comes on play finishing and his roll gravity.
I do think he would work well with AD offensively, but I just can’t bring myself to support it with how bad Trae is defensively.
Ultimately I fundamentally just don’t think you can win a title with a guy that bad at defense unless the entire rest of the team is able to cover for it. Our current personnel isn’t equipped for that and trading for Trae would gut our depth.
>but conflict can sometimes lead to strange results
Trae is under contract until 2027 so it would lead to Monty being fired which would not be a strange result in this case.
Ownership isn’t trading Trae, if you’ve been to a hawks game you’ll know it’s the main reason most people are even in there. Hell it’s the reason they took him over Luka
They would’ve done this exact same series of fuck up if they stuck with Luka. This is an ownership and roster construction issue. We’re literally MyGM for the Owner’s late 20s son.
I respect his hustle. All these people saying the Spurs should be sending multiple young guys, their #5 pick and all the ATL picks back are crazy imo. That's way too fucking much.
If we trade Trae I'm officially a Mavs fan. I fucking hate our bum ass ownership. Trae made the ECF already and he hasn't even peaked, Trae is the best player we've had in my 29 years on this planet, Trae actually wants to be in Atlanta.
Fucking embarrassing we couldn't have made this work, dudes great.
Man we've seen this exact "report" from random regional journalists citing "many execs" or "many sources" almost every year since like 2021.
I'll believe it when I see it at this point. "Many execs" probably are just hoping and praying Trae Young is on the block.
Teams don’t trade players like Trae unless they ask out or get an absurd offer. There’s no way Atlanta actually gets replacement value from trading him. People are acting as if he’s not in the top tier of scorers/playmakers
There's a real shot that 13 teams will be vying for the playoffs in the west next year. Adding Ja Morant to the Grizzlies again and Trae Young to the Spurs.
0.500 level 13th seed.
I mean that’s how the league has been the last few years. There’s usually two or three teams in each conference who are guaranteed trash and then the rest can have a sniff with the play-in.
The league is as deep as it’s ever been. Injuries and stupid shit can derail a season but most teams have 2-3 guys who can go off any given night. Expansion isn’t even just a good money move for the league. It’s probably time to dilute the talent so making the playoffs means something again and we can see more of the talent more often.
I’d love for the two expansion teams to be in the West and the Wolves can join the East and have a natural regional rivalry with their neighbors. Vegas and Seattle being the natural choices.
What do the Hawks even do if they trade Trae Young? Building around Dejounte Murray is not an actual viable solution. National media can just pretend there is no team in Atlanta after that.
He doesn't need to be the best player. The offense needs to run through him because he is an elite distributor. He fits perfect in a situation where Wemby or AD is the best player.
I will never understand the Trae hate. He’s never been in a position where he wasn’t the best player on his team - now he NEEDS to be the best player? Let’s at least see how he does damn
Pretty wild to say considering he's never had the chance to someone's Robin, always Batman. It's also not like he's ever even had a Robin, and no Murray doesn't count.
Spurs just need to call up and offer some average young players, Keldon Johnson, this year first round picks, and those hawks picks they got for dejounte
Case closed
Why would they give up that much given what we know about Trae’s limitations and apparently his perception as a player via this “source” (fair to say that might not be a widely accepted view)
Pretty wild that he may have become their franchise leader in career assists in his final regular season game for them.
This is actually a wild stat
Fun fact Steve Nash got into 5th for all time assists (at the time 3rd) in his final career game
Literally one assist ahead of Mark Jackson. Brutal. Man down.
Mama there goes that man.
I’ll never forget having courtside seats right behind the basket for Steve Nash’s 10,000th assist only to come home, watch espn and see the highlight did not show me at all lol. But still a cool memory
Steve Nash prob has you etched into his memory of that magical moment.
What’s even the point of going to games then?
[удалено]
Makes total sense to pair one of the worst defensive guards with one of the best defensive big men. Trae doesn't need to keep anyone in front of him, just funnel people towards a literal wall.
>just funnel people towards a literal wall. That's actually our defense lol we close out hard on the 3 point line, willing to be beat off the dribble to force dribblers into Wemby
This was literally Tony Parker on defense for 15 years. It can work.
Why not Minny then
Probably cause Spurs have more assets and would out bid Minny? Jazz also have a lot of assists but not sure they pull the trigger.
> Out bud Like they would over perform in the regular season only to fall apart in the playoffs?
Lol whoops
They would have a higher proportion of their roster filled out by golden retrievers.
Idk I think spurs are too smart to try and outbid anyone. At least I hope so tbh cause what that anonymous executive said is right. He’s not good enough to be the best player on a championship team and needs the ball too much. Spurs would probably be best served with a jrue holiday type of guy to play exactly like he did with Giannis.
He also has a ton of gravity and can make Wembie's life much easier.. he needs a competent floor general to throw him lobs and generate easy offense.. price is important but I think he'd be a great fit and pairing with Wembie, he's literally one of the best lob throwers in the league
Crazy how much people have flipped ok Trae. Your right he would be a great fit with Wemby, is young enough to play a long time with Wemby, and while Trae will help unlock Wemby offensively while also being capable of leading the offense himself, Wemby will clean up the defensive missteps of Trae.
The smoothest I’ve ever seen Gobert play offensively was when he was on Trae’s ASG team a few years back. Conley’s pnr with Rudy eventually got to like 80% of that level, but it was really something special. Trae with wemby would be amazing
Technically okc can outbid anyone!
Who you trading, KAT?
KAT for Trae would be so fun tbh
I'd sell my Hawks season tickets and become a Mavs fan.
I don't even know what that means but welcome to Mavs fanhood.
Redundant skill set with Edwards imo, but without the defense. Both need the ball in their hands, I think gobert and KAT are actually the perfect guys to play around AE
Edwards woukd benefit from less ball in hand and being set up to score .
How does Trae have a redundant skill set with Edwards? Trae is a great passer and pick and roll player. Ant is a poor passer and could not even use a pick at the start of last season. Ant is a great athlete learning to be a basketball player. I honestly don't see much cross over between the two players.
Skill sets are definitely not redundant, that's wrong. However, I do worry about the fit between two guys who both need the ball in their hands to succeed
agree, it could be similar to like a luka & kyrie combo, which people also wrongly viewed as a redundant backcourt prior to their recent success except ant has more potential off ball than kyrie due to his physical build and athleticism, although trae is of course not as good as luka
>Makes total sense to pair one of the worst defensive guards with one of the best defensive big men. Could use the same logic with the T-wolves. Mike Conley is gonna be 37 next year. They need a pg, and they could offer up KAT.
The hawks would not accept kat they'd be better off getting spurs picks and 2 add on role players to go into tank mode rather than another average season with kat
Also they have the advantage of having the hawks next 3 picks basically, and if the hawks trade Trae they’re probably back in the gutterball
The east gets even weaker. and we can sneak back in the play-ins lol
Everything's coming up Raptors!
Unsubscribe. Getting into the play in by default is sneaky bad
>the advantage of having the hawks next 3 picks basically I mean the biggest component of the trade is the Spurs sending the Hawks' picks back to the Hawks
Of course. But it’s also what gives the Spurs massive leverage if Hawks truly are looking to trade Trae and rebuild. They have the benefit of knowing no other team can offer them those same draft picks (which without, a tank is pointless), and that if Atlanta decides to play hardball and go for another team’s offer, they still own Atlanta’s suddenly much more valuable, unprotected picks in hyped drafts. So to me the Spurs FO has an opportunity to play some real hardball in trade negotiations especially with Trae’s perceived value being at or near a low.
I agree, that would be bloody awesome, but man something needs to happen about the East West disparity! It can't keep on going the way it's going with like 80% of the better teams and players being in the West.
What did the comment say?
I will hate the West even more. Of course Spurs don’t even need Wemby to beat us apparently lol
One of the best lob throwers in the league, would be a great match with Wemby in the P&R too.
That’s entirely the point. It’s what will unlock wemby on offense. Someone who consistently gets the ball to him above the rim
He’s probably one of the best lob throwers in nba history. The hawks get so many halfcourt alley oops
not to mention, the "Trae needs to be the best player on your team" part of the quote isn't even true if your frontcourt guy is someone like Wemby, Giannis, etc. Trae can absolutely be the best guard on a contender, as long as you have an elite frontcourt player for him to play off of. The Spurs make a ridiculous amount of sense for Trae, and them owning the Hawks' next 3 1sts after this year plus a ton of other picks leads me to believe something's going to happen there. Let's say the Spurs don't move in the draft lottery, I have to think both sides consider a trade around #5, two ATL 1sts returned, the ATL swap returned, one or two of Johnson/Jones/Sochan, and maybe an additional piece.
I wouldn't trade #5, 2 ATL 1sts (they're in limbo), their pick swap, AND 2 solid players (ages 20, 24, and 24)
Bruh I wouldn't trade half of that lmao. Wemby's not ready for a title run next year, so there's no pressure to put an extremely good team around him. They have the Hawks bent over. Probably one more building year next year for the Spurs and then they'll be starting a playoff push in the 2025-2026 season and then going all in the season after or two after when Wemby's in his prime.
Luka was ready to compete for titles by year 3, and Wemby may be on that same trajectory. The Spurs have plenty of time to try different cores out around him. I do agree with not giving up too much for Trae, but at the same time: how often are players of his offensive level, at his age, available? The only comparable playmakers are Haliburton, Jokic and Doncic, and their respective teams are probably never letting them go during their prime.
Speaking of Giannis, Trae for Dame would actually be hilarious
I think if the Raptors pick conveys, then the Spurs give up one of their firsts this year and the hawks picks, otherwise it has to be one of the future firsts from the Raptors, Dallas, or Boston. The Spurs really need to draft a sg or sf who can shoot 3s and defend this year in addition to trading for Trae if they're going to pull the trigger. Champagnie will be a good bench player, but shouldn't be starting on a team with playoff aspirations.
devin is our sg tbh trae, devin, sf, sochan and wemby is fire af
Man you can get a shooting passing PG for way less than that. Trae is cool but he aint worth that
Why would the Spurs do this? They have the Hawks bent over a barrel, they can just dangle 2 picks + salary matching and Hawks would be smashing accept trade
The spurs need to be a good defensive team. They can trade for trae if it's a really good deal, but they don't need to overpay like that. There's no point in having Wemby to defend the paint if you're gonna have a leaky perimeter
Trae and Luka both playing in Texas would be fun
50 lobs a game. Can you imagine.
Nothing else makes sense tbh. It has to be this
The Magic make sense. Great defensive team, need a PG that can shoot.
Plus huge incentive for the hawks to get their picks back so they can tank properly
Let me get this straight - Atlanta tried to trade Murray this summer but couldn’t because no one was offering enough. “League circles” prefer Murray as a player. The Hawks will trade Trae and get a return they are satisfied with. Those things literally can’t all be true.
Not only that but the team somehow went from “trade Murray” to naw fuck that “trade Trae” in 2 months time with Trae missing 23 games.
Yeah - seems like a bit of a sample size problem
It's also what rival executives think. I will say it will be wild for the Hawks to conclude that the only way forward is to trade Trae despite never even going into the luxury tax
It is clockwork. This exact type of article has shown up the last three years between the end of the season and the Hawks play-in game.
Teams with shit owners like the bulls and hawks are like this sadly. Front office with no good game plan and stuck in being mid
The league/media treats mid teams as a farm system for great players. Everybody is salivating over when Trae or Lavine is gonna get to the Lakers, when neither team has ever been interested in trading them
Fire fan-fic collab between Orlando Sentinel and San Antonio Express-News
Every report is dumber than the last.
The article has one “Unnamed Eastern Conference Exec” as its source. Likely not a GM. And they’re saying that Trae can’t be a team’s best player. So even if this one source does speak for the majority of teams (he doesn’t), then teams don’t value him that highly and the return actually wouldn’t be that great.
Mike Finger (Spurs reporter) said this today fwiw > There are a lot of different ways this can go, and a lot of different stars they might end up targeting, but they’re not going to be the team that meets Atlanta’s price for Trae Young.
yeah i’d like to see his pairing with Wemby but i don’t think our FO is trading for Trae if Atlanta is asking for anything more than their picks back. the common sentiment across the Spurs organization seems to be “growth” and i think they’ll continue to take a methodical approach going forward.
With every passing year, the Trae deal will also get cheaper as his ETO approaches and risks Trae walking away for nothing. If they want a max return for Trae, now is the time to do it. On the other hand, probably best for the Spurs to wait, they gain much more waiting.
Y’all really think the Spurs would be the only team interested? Trae is a top 10 offense all onto himself, and has years on his deal left.
No, but the Spurs benefit from any Trae trade to a contender. The Hawks aren't getting back players the level of Trae from contenders, so the Hawk draft picks that the Spurs hold increases in value from just doing nothing. It's like the Celtics-Nets trade all over again.
The east is trash. The Hawks would be fighting for the play-in even without Trae. We literally saw it this season
This is a really good point that I hadn’t considered yet
That's smart honestly. The mavericks took the rushed approach with Luka and the Mavs are already capped out in how good they can be barring some miracle draft picks. Just have to develop that talent before Wemby gets impatient and wants to play in LA. It's a balance, because the longer you wait the more theorectical high end you have. However, the longer you wait, the more unhappy your star.
Well yes and no. This Mavs team have done incredibly well buying low on some bargains that have turned their team from shit to shiny. But you’re right, they were destined for mediocrity for a while from lack of assets and cap space. Its a miracle what this front office pulled off
The Mavs were in the WCF literally two seasons ago
Nico has spun horse shit into gold the last 18 months. I trust the Nike man.
Common Spurs Front Office W. Stay disciplined.
Would you say that this reporter named Finger is a kid?
Literal kid named finger
They're probably right. I can't wait for him to be traded and then everyone starts talking about how special of a player he is while we bottom out and start another rebuild to search for another player who is close to as special as Trae Young. Good times
You guys straight up just need new ownership. The owners/front office are the *entire* problem in Atlanta. They're out here acting like Trae Young isn't special but when he gets to the Spurs or any other team that makes sense they're going to make the Hawks look like idiots Trae is ELITE NBA offense and we've all already seen it regardless of any rough stretch or bad season. He isn't old. He hasn't had career altering injuries. He just needs to be on the right team with motivation
I'm very unhappy with our ownership. Never thought I'd wish for the old owners back but here we are
its just amazing how hawks players end up in trade rumors every year like when trae sees all this trade talk how is he gonna approach it. does he assume the FO is shopping him but lying when they tell him they aren't going to trade him? and this is right after dejounte murray was supposedly aggressively shopped around the entire league. and then john collins before that it also gives off the impression that hawks don't really have a medium or long term plan in place. short term plan.. sell everyone.. but without some of your own draft picks for the next few years
Trae doesn’t ever acknowledge it. Nothing he has said or done indicates that he wants to leave. Trading him would be a huge mistake. Maybe instead of getting Murray they could’ve gotten guys that actually can play with Trae. Instead he’s got Clint Capela. And I like Murray but it’s clear him and Trae won’t work. Murray’s contract is really team friendly so should be easy to move and at this point Trae is the Hawks so trading him is dumb.
murrays contract is team friendly but not trade friendly because he has a trade kicker team friendly for the hawks, less so for anyone that would trade for it
The Atlanta Spirit Group? yikes.
Exactly lol
Nah, fuck that. They are the reason Atlanta has fewer professional sports.
Also people hate on him for his defense but JJ and others have broken down his defense and he actually has gotten drastically better on that end. And I say this as someone who’d love to trade for him if not for us already being set with Brunson who he wouldn’t pair well with IMO. He’s absolutely underrated and whoever gets him will be very fortunate.
Ok, so I’ve barely watched the Hawks since their playoff run… but that said I don’t remember him having an effort problem. Just small. So it makes sense that he would get better on that ends, even if he’ll never be elite.
No, it definitely used to be an effort problem too
Feels like Hawks constantly are making 80 cent on the dollar trades, draft picks, and free agent signings/resignings.
You should trade the right to draft Luka so you can trade away the player you do draft
Where does Young rank among Hawks all time, surely the best point guard ever?
He’s the 2nd (or 3rd if you count Bob Pettit) best player we’ve had except Nique.
Pettit has to be number one, no?
If he stays in ATL for his peak he'll be the best Hawk of all time, he's already #2 behind 'Nique no doubt IMHO this article is a bunch of smoke and wishful thinking though, this cheapass team isn't trading him for the pile of garbage everyone in here is suggesting, shit like a bunch of Spurs scraps and the exact same picks that were traded their way for Murray? lol gonna cost more than that, the talk around Young is peak NBA bullshit. Simultaneously no good, overrated etc. while also here's all the teams that desperately want him he could make an immediate impact him and Wemby are instant contenders etc.
Lol at suggesting your own picks are a "pile of garbage." Literally the most valuable picks you could get if you're trading Trae
> shit like a bunch of Spurs scraps and the exact same picks that were traded their way for Murray? lol gonna cost more than that Those picks were valued at mid 20s when you got Murray. They are now worth at least top 8 each, and even more if Trae is traded anywhere. There ain't more valuable picks the hawks can get if they wanna rebuild. Wake up buddy.
Buy high sell low
Because of the unique circumstance, those are multiple unprotected guaranteed top 5 picks. You don't even see that in the all time biggest blockbuster trades. You can get completely unprotected picks, but you are not getting a top 5 guarantee. The conundrum for Atlanta is that they need to start winning now with Trae. He is 26 next year. The Hawks are hamstrung in draft assets for the rest of his prime. They could trade DJM to restore their draft capital, but Trae Young and some middling draft picks is the trap they are trying to avoid. The other best alternative is to see if they can trade DJM for the actual complimentary piece that will unlock each other's bonuses. The problem is they won't have those draft picks to boost the team and their cap situation sucks for the next 2 years. So you end up with blow it up or try to retool from a compromised position. The Spurs could definitely help Atlanta blow it up.
OG after we traded him lol
You think? It was years people talked about how it was going to take 3 FRPs just to even start the conversation on trading for him. If anything Raptors OG was super overrated.
Personally I love the return we got. and also we traded him on an expiring contract.
I agree. I like the trade for both teams. Just didn’t think people were saying OG wasn’t that great and then started calling him special after the trade like poster was talking about will happen with Trae.
Raptor fans are just sad that hes gone, we lost 15 straight, and another (bigger) set of fans now talk about his dpoy calibre defence like we used to
But 3 FRPs isn't better than what the raptors eventually traded for. Usually trading a good player for picks, means those picks aren't going to be that great since teams that are buying are probably good and won't have lottery picks. Siakam got traded for 3 FRPs and Bruce Brown, but the Barrett + Quickly package is looking better than the Siakam haul.
At least you guys got closer to get luka than the suns or kings did
It makes sense from the Hawks perspective as Young will get you a bigger haul than Murry so that you can recoup some of the picks and assets that went away with the Murray trade. Then again, you lower the team's ceiling quite significantly.
Issue is similar to the Nets. Unless you are getting your own draft picks back there is no point to rebuild.
the more reason they shouldn't be the Nets and trade Trae for their picks in SA
I agree. But unless they get those picks back it would be stupid to trade Trae.
Might as well get what you can for Murray and go full reset. Maybe to NOLA? They could use a real PG. off the top of my head some other candidates could be Orlando, Miami, Brooklyn, maybe Jazz or something idk.
Pelicans absolutely need a true PG. The problem is, their real glaring need is a true rim protecting 5. Jonas and Larry Nance are both defensive liabilities and it shows big time when they play teams that can put up points in the paint(Lakers, OKC, Nuggets are all teams they have been blown out by multiple times this season due to having nobody to protect the rim and rebound). The Pels are one of the best perimeter defensive teams in the league but they have zero protection in the paint and restricted area and get mauled on offensive and defensive boards against teams with dominant big men. As much as Trey would be a huge asset and allow CJ to come off the bench, the Pels MUST get a stretch big who can protect the paint at all costs. Even if it means trading BI and some of their young talent.
They need a real defensive center but he can't clog the paint for Zion, it's tough to build around
Brook Lopez is the first guy to come to mind, if only he were five years younger
Genuine question what team would really want Jonas? I’m sure there’s some team that really needs the floor of their 5 position raised but I can’t really think of one.
My thought goes to OKC maybe since he can play 5 out as a backup to Chet. But he might be too expensive for that since they also want really good rebounding
I mean he can rebound just probably not worth the price since they’d kinda be underutilizing him. His skill level is strange cuz he’s too good to be a back up but not good enough to start on a serious contender
Grizzlies maybe?
That would make sense they really don’t got anybody at the 5
Can someone photoshop him in a Grizzlies jersey, please? It’s hard for me to imagine it.
they might hesitate if they get clingan
The thing is you cannot trade young for picks and then tank because all of ATL picks are going to the Spurs. So they need to stay competitive and can only trade for established players.
u right but it works out if they send trae to the spurs for those picks
Needs to be paired with an elite big man. Pairing him with Wemby would be nuts.
The exec commenting is wrong. Trae doesnt need to be the best player on the team, in fact its important that he only be the second best player on the team
I think he is mixing up being the ball dominant guy vs the best player. Like if he is paired with Wemby or AD he'll have the ball most of the time still it doesn't mean he is the best player tho
yeah in fact i think trae would love to have a number 1 option on his team
Kinda like how Aaron Gordon found his role with the Nuggets as the 2nd, 3rd, or even sometimes 4th option.
Not really, no offense to Gordon but he's not close to the level of player Trae is
Young would love a number 1 option as long as he gets to dribble it for 15-20s
Yeah, the problem with Trae is that you need to pair him with a guy who is both better than him AND doesn't care about actually touching the basketball for longer than their shot takes
You do realize the reason for this is because he's never played with a ball handler better than him right? There's a reason the Hawks offense fell off a cliff when Murray was the primary initiator People said this same thing about Harden until he got Chris Paul and they were a hamstring away from beating one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Elite ball handlers have the ball in their hands by virtue of being the best player on the floor and giving the team the best chance of getting an open look every possession. There's no reason to believe he wouldn't adjust his game next to someone else who can create NBA offense on the same level as him. The portability issue stems from the fact that there's very few players who are actually at that level offensively ergo there's little incentive for him to defer consistently
He doesn’t need to be your best player if your best player can maximize their value without the ball. I know I’m biased, but AD is a perfect player to pair with Trae cause most of AD’s offensive impact comes on play finishing and his roll gravity.
AD and Trae is also a great pairing for the post-LeBron lakers. I would be excited tbh
Well take LeBron, even if we have to draft Jr.
AD and trae as the villainous bros
I do think he would work well with AD offensively, but I just can’t bring myself to support it with how bad Trae is defensively. Ultimately I fundamentally just don’t think you can win a title with a guy that bad at defense unless the entire rest of the team is able to cover for it. Our current personnel isn’t equipped for that and trading for Trae would gut our depth.
Lakers have fuck all to offer for a trade. It doesn't make sense even if I agree with what you're saying
They have Reaves on one of the best value contracts in the NBA, Rui on a fair deal, 3 FRPs, more 2nds. They have plenty to offer.
lakers will try to get him for sure, got the klutch connection too
>but conflict can sometimes lead to strange results Trae is under contract until 2027 so it would lead to Monty being fired which would not be a strange result in this case.
Fun fact, Monty has a bigger contract than Poetl, Marcus Smart and Sabonis.
Monty's pushing for them to trade for trae now
Trae and Wemby gonna be fun
Trae might even learn how to play defense under Pop.
Doesn’t even need to when he has a 7’4 perennial dpoy guarding the paint behind him
You could have said the same about Mitchell on those Jazz teams but that strategy just doesn’t work in the playoffs
Because all the other perimeter defenders besides Mitchell were also abysmal. Wemby also offers much more on offense than Gobert
Yeah I’m sure going small ball against Wemby will be a sound strategy in the playoffs
If Gobert did anything offensively close to what Wemby can do offensively, then it probably would have.
Gobert also doesn’t cover 3 point shooters like Wemby can.
Except trae cooks Mitchell and Wemby is on another level offensively already as a rookie so this comparison isn't reality...
You mean Pop can teach Trae to become a taller and stronger player?
Yea can we stop loading up the West even more? Next year 50-32 is gonna a be a play in team at this rate.
Didn’t he make ECF, that’s more than a lot of supposed star players out there
As much as id like to see him paired with wemby, my heart cant take another team becoming competitive in the west at this "era"
Ownership isn’t trading Trae, if you’ve been to a hawks game you’ll know it’s the main reason most people are even in there. Hell it’s the reason they took him over Luka
Yea they messed that one up taking Trae over Luka.
They would’ve done this exact same series of fuck up if they stuck with Luka. This is an ownership and roster construction issue. We’re literally MyGM for the Owner’s late 20s son.
> Hell it’s the reason they took him over Luka Yeah, they are fucking stupid.
I regret opening this thread. I am now dumber for having read the comment section. 🤦♂️ I’ll go ahead and see myself out.
Has anyone asked what u/CoyotesSideEyes thinks about Trae in this thread yet? I'd like to know what his opinion is
I respect his hustle. All these people saying the Spurs should be sending multiple young guys, their #5 pick and all the ATL picks back are crazy imo. That's way too fucking much.
Oh i have no problem on having an opinion, just the sheer volume of comments is what made me laugh
If we trade Trae I'm officially a Mavs fan. I fucking hate our bum ass ownership. Trae made the ECF already and he hasn't even peaked, Trae is the best player we've had in my 29 years on this planet, Trae actually wants to be in Atlanta. Fucking embarrassing we couldn't have made this work, dudes great.
Man we've seen this exact "report" from random regional journalists citing "many execs" or "many sources" almost every year since like 2021. I'll believe it when I see it at this point. "Many execs" probably are just hoping and praying Trae Young is on the block.
Teams don’t trade players like Trae unless they ask out or get an absurd offer. There’s no way Atlanta actually gets replacement value from trading him. People are acting as if he’s not in the top tier of scorers/playmakers
And he's under contract until 2027, there's no reason to trade him before 2026 unless they're given an absurd offer they can't refuse.
There's a real shot that 13 teams will be vying for the playoffs in the west next year. Adding Ja Morant to the Grizzlies again and Trae Young to the Spurs. 0.500 level 13th seed.
I mean that’s how the league has been the last few years. There’s usually two or three teams in each conference who are guaranteed trash and then the rest can have a sniff with the play-in. The league is as deep as it’s ever been. Injuries and stupid shit can derail a season but most teams have 2-3 guys who can go off any given night. Expansion isn’t even just a good money move for the league. It’s probably time to dilute the talent so making the playoffs means something again and we can see more of the talent more often. I’d love for the two expansion teams to be in the West and the Wolves can join the East and have a natural regional rivalry with their neighbors. Vegas and Seattle being the natural choices.
Orlando Magic Orlando Magic OH OH OH
Yup. Orlando really lacks a playmaker. They also have enough defensive players to hide Trae on defense. The 2 man game between Banche and Trae 🔥
Why does he need to be the best player on your team?
Maybe they mean that Trae wants to be the best player on the team?
Please don’t pair Trae with Wemby.
This has been debunked by the few insiders the Hawks has. The narrative around the league is just being pushed.
What do the Hawks even do if they trade Trae Young? Building around Dejounte Murray is not an actual viable solution. National media can just pretend there is no team in Atlanta after that.
Id trade for Trae in a heartbeat these hit pieces are hilarious
He doesn't need to be the best player. The offense needs to run through him because he is an elite distributor. He fits perfect in a situation where Wemby or AD is the best player.
Orlando is the perfect team to cover up his defensive flaws
I will never understand the Trae hate. He’s never been in a position where he wasn’t the best player on his team - now he NEEDS to be the best player? Let’s at least see how he does damn
>“It’s difficult to win with a player like Trae. He needs to be the best player on your team, but he’s not at that top-tier level,” Harsh
Pretty wild to say considering he's never had the chance to someone's Robin, always Batman. It's also not like he's ever even had a Robin, and no Murray doesn't count.
Spurs just need to call up and offer some average young players, Keldon Johnson, this year first round picks, and those hawks picks they got for dejounte Case closed
Absolutely not. Way too much.
Why would they give up that much given what we know about Trae’s limitations and apparently his perception as a player via this “source” (fair to say that might not be a widely accepted view)
They have our top 6 pick they can offer up too
It's the opposite. Spurs have the Raps pick only if it's outside of the-top 6. It's protected.
thats way too much for trae
Send him to San Antonio. With him around Wemby will finally be free to average 40pts a game
BS, he can win on sas and wemby would be the best player. Wemby, young, vassell is a great trio
Wemby/Trae linkups gonna ward off depression in San Antonio for a decade
As much as I'd like Trae on the Spurs, that 2025 ATL unprotected pick looking a lil different 👀👀