What would you give up for Trae?

[Ito]

Luka

[makubesu]

He is worth more than all of the recently traded guys.

Even Rudy Gobert? /s

Is that a serious question? I didn't make that statement as some kind of great revelation. Trae is a superstar and has finally become arguably a better offensive player than Doncic.

“/s” means sarcasm

[Cubbies2120]

He is worth more than all of the recently traded guys.

Even Rudy Gobert? /s

Trae is a superstar and has finally become arguably a better offensive player than Doncic.

I guess you truly can argue anything in this world...but that's why losing arguments exist. And Trae being a better offensive player than Doncic is pretty clearly a losing argument.

[TravisScott55]

FVV

[Myth]

Doesn't make sense for Portland to target Trae, so they wouldn't give up anything of good value and would easily be outbid by others.

[Harry Garris]

Trae is obviously an incredible offensive player and he'd be worth trading at least the package that the Jazz got for Donovan Mitchell the problem is then you're committed to building a team around Trae Young.

If my job as a theoretical GM is to construct an exciting team that gets to the playoffs every year and has a chance to advance a round or two sure I'd trade a couple of promising young players and 3 FRPs and two swaps for Trae Young. But if it's championship or bust I'd decline trading for him entirely.

[BadWolf]

But if it's championship or bust I'd decline trading for him entirely.

Can you make his you'd trade for in that scenario?

Giannis and Luka.

Maybe an older guy like KD, Steph, LeBron.
and...?

[jonbob17]

Trae may not win a championship in the next ten years, but chances are neither will 25 or so other franchises. I think Atlanta will be a contender, top 4-6 seed, multiple times.

Trae is also one of the most fun players in the league to watch. There is plenty of value in that to both a team and a fan base.

I mean if Trae Young ends up being a better version of Damian Lillard, that seems like a pretty good time to be a Hawks fan.

Of course they could also build a team with him that can win a title. It's hard to see it in Atlanta at the moment, but if they could add a lockdown wing next to Murray, and Okongwu develops. I don't know, maybe. You never know what a team is going to look like 2 years from now.

[wco81]

Hawks core will still be around by the time Bucks and Nets age out. Giannis is still young but Middleton and Holiday are older.

But Celtics still have young players, so does Philly.

Plus you have teams like Detroit and Orlando stockpiling top 5 picks so one of those teams could break out.

[Fable]

[rapstarter]

He had some great moments especially against the Knicks, but he's not been that good in the playoffs - definitely nothing close to a top 5 offensive player. You then add his problematic defense, and you start to really worry.

Trae's last 5 playoff games were dreadful. But let's not pretend the first 16+ playoff games weren't pretty phenomenal. He produced against the Bucks, 76ers and Knicks...at an historic level.

Read on Twitter

That's the thing. We are still working with a small sample size. If look at his last 16 games instead of his first 16 games (by effectively replacing the Knicks series with the Heat one, he's averaging pretty awful 24.5PPG, 8.3APG, 3.5RPG, 5TOPG on 38.8/26.9/83.1. Doesn't exactly scream historic or top 5 in the world. I think he still has a lot to prove especially given how his most recent games went.

[VonlehCanPlay]

Will he fix his haircut before the trade?

Lol

Markelle Fultz
Jonathan Isaac
Cole Anthony or Jalen Suggs
Chuma Okeke
2023 1st Unprotected
2023 1st Chicago (1-4 Protected)
2025 1st Unprotected
2027 1st Unprotected
2029 1st Unprotected
2024 1st Pick Swap
2028 1st Pick Swap

People be the first to trade other people's assets and not their own teams(I understand both Morant and Young are PG).

LOL

Isiah Thomas II?...
They keep mentioning Trae Young with such mediocre players...

To clarify, in my mind I picture 2016-2017 top 5 MVP voting Isaiah Thomas.
Or maybe even Linsanity Jeremy Lin (kidding, but their stats are eeily similar - from reddit so feel free to verify):
25 pts - 9 asts - 51% FG - 4 rebs - 2 stls
8-1 record

Assuming Trae absolutely wanted out and did not care where he went?

Utah:
24 Swap w/ UTH if pick doesn't convey to OKC, else 25 or 26 swap depending on conveyance
25 CLE Unp
27 CLE Unp
29 CLE Unp
Sexton
Vanderbilt
Bogdanovic

Could argue semantic on the package later.

This is the stuff I was looking forward to seeing. A Utah fan willing to end "the process" on the spot for Trae.
Is this because Trae brings exciting basketball for years to come or do you expect a real shot at a ring with Trae?

I'm a lifelong Nuggets guy and think Young would be a poor fit with Jokic. He would need the ball far too much and would only accentuate Denver's defensive shortcomings.

I was initially thinking having Trae would balance Denver's offense. He's certainly more skilled individually than Murray. But I'd rather the offense run through Jokic every time.

Anything but Barnes.

Out with the stockpile of length! Although you can always get more of that. Getting instant offense to pair with Barnes and just defense to figure out after that is probably a good problem to have.

Trae is obviously an incredible offensive player and he'd be worth trading at least the package that the Jazz got for Donovan Mitchell the problem is then you're committed to building a team around Trae Young.

If my job as a theoretical GM is to construct an exciting team that gets to the playoffs every year and has a chance to advance a round or two sure I'd trade a couple of promising young players and 3 FRPs and two swaps for Trae Young. But if it's championship or bust I'd decline trading for him entirely.

Interesting take. I'm betting CallMeKahn who I quoted above thinks similarly. Maybe the issue here is that I am a championship or bust theoretical GM.

That's the thing. We are still working with a small sample size. If look at his last 16 games instead of his first 16 games (by effectively replacing the Knicks series with the Heat one, he's averaging pretty awful 24.5PPG, 8.3APG, 3.5RPG, 5TOPG on 38.8/26.9/83.1. Doesn't exactly scream historic or top 5 in the world. I think he still has a lot to prove especially given how his most recent games went.

Excited to see what he does next year. Wish I could just skip right to playoff basketball since he could probably be a top 10 MVP candidate in the regular season and that alone wouldn't be enough for the haters to go away. If only there was an in-season tournament

[Lunartic]

I'm a trae hater but he's actually a very offensively talented player and he's very young. He had one of the worst performances in NBA history last season but most teams would mortgage their future for him.

He's a top 11 player

[wco81]

In his 4 full seasons, the Hawks are 133-170 in the regular season and 11-12 in 2 playoffs appearances.

His regular season totals are 25.3/9.1 on 44/35.5/87.3 efficiency.

His playoffs totals are 25.6/8.7 on 40.2/28.6/85 efficiency.

In the 2020-21 playoffs, when he led the Hawks to the ECF, he scored a lot but his efficiency was 41.8/31.3/86.6.

So he was chucking from 3 but he was very good in 2P shots. No shot charts but probably shots in the paint and he got to the line a lot.

With rule changes, he got to the line a lot less this past season and playoffs but maybe one could argue that his real long 3-point shot attempts set up his drives.

Remains to be seen if the 2020-21 playoffs will be an outlier or Trae will lead his team on another run like that. I think one could argue that the numbers are skewed somewhat by the series against an overmatched Knicks that year.

They did take down Philly, a top 4 EC team but 76ers have chronically underachieved in the playoffs the last 5 years or so.

Donovan Mitchell has never gotten past the second round of the playoffs but the Jazz are well above .500 during the years he led them and his playoffs numbers are better.

It may be that neither of them are good enough to be the best players on a championship team.

But for all the numbers Trae puts up, he may first have to lead his team above .500 or some might just accuse him of putting up empty stats.

[GreatSunnyNorth]

1) What would you want your team to give up for Trae?
2) What is his general trade value (e.g. a better haul than Mitchell?)?

The catch is that whatever team gets Trae cannot repackage him. Your team is paying the $45M through 2027.

Sixers fans, do you trade Maxey for him straight up?
Suns fans, do you trade CP3 for him (remember, no repackaging. So it's him and Booker for eternity)?

My thoughts are that he is similar to Isaiah Thomas. Very good player, but won't be able to shine in the playoffs against top defenses.

Accordingly, package for him would be pretty low for an allstar (again, if I can't repackage). For instance, if instead of giving away Danilo in the Murray trade (this was Danilo+picks to Spurs for Murray+filler) the Hawks gave up Trae and also received Keldon Johnson (so Trae+same picks for Murray+Keldon+filler), I think the Hawks are better. Murray-Johnson-Hunter 1-3 looks better to me this year and into the future. In this scenario, maybe Hawks beat the Blazers to Jerami Grant also and go with a Murray-Johnson-Hunter-Grant-Capela lineup while possibly keep Collins as a supersub.

Do you agree Hawks fans?

To Trae's credit, I think in certain narrow situations he would be great. I think teams with a lot of length, spacing, and frontcourt scoring (e.g. Toronto and Bucks) would improve with a point guard swap for Trae (I'd give up Vanvleet, Trent, and lots of picks for Trae as the fit would be too good, but much less if I'm the Bucks as Jrue complements the Bucks really well). Further, to Trae's credit, his team beat a playoff Knicks team and Sixers team (scaring Ben Simmons out of the NBA).

Re: the Suns: I’d be willing to swap CP3, who’s also at the point of getting hunted by opponents in the playoffs and doesn’t have the range to bend defences the way Trae can. The big gambles would be on salary management and team culture, but it’s worth the risk to create elite floor spacing around a developing Ayton.

[MemphisX]

1) What would you want your team to give up for Trae?
2) What is his general trade value (e.g. a better haul than Mitchell?)?

The catch is that whatever team gets Trae cannot repackage him. Your team is paying the $45M through 2027.

Sixers fans, do you trade Maxey for him straight up?
Suns fans, do you trade CP3 for him (remember, no repackaging. So it's him and Booker for eternity)?

My thoughts are that he is similar to Isaiah Thomas. Very good player, but won't be able to shine in the playoffs against top defenses.

Accordingly, package for him would be pretty low for an allstar (again, if I can't repackage). For instance, if instead of giving away Danilo in the Murray trade (this was Danilo+picks to Spurs for Murray+filler) the Hawks gave up Trae and also received Keldon Johnson (so Trae+same picks for Murray+Keldon+filler), I think the Hawks are better. Murray-Johnson-Hunter 1-3 looks better to me this year and into the future. In this scenario, maybe Hawks beat the Blazers to Jerami Grant also and go with a Murray-Johnson-Hunter-Grant-Capela lineup while possibly keep Collins as a supersub.

Do you agree Hawks fans?

To Trae's credit, I think in certain narrow situations he would be great. I think teams with a lot of length, spacing, and frontcourt scoring (e.g. Toronto and Bucks) would improve with a point guard swap for Trae (I'd give up Vanvleet, Trent, and lots of picks for Trae as the fit would be too good, but much less if I'm the Bucks as Jrue complements the Bucks really well). Further, to Trae's credit, his team beat a playoff Knicks team and Sixers team (scaring Ben Simmons out of the NBA).

Re: the Suns: I’d be willing to swap CP3, who’s also at the point of getting hunted by opponents in the playoffs and doesn’t have the range to bend defences the way Trae can. The big gambles would be on salary management and team culture, but it’s worth the risk to create elite floor spacing around a developing Ayton.

CP3 plus picks would be a creative package. Trae/Booker/Ayton is a long term bet I would make easily.

[BadWolf]

1) What would you want your team to give up for Trae?
2) What is his general trade value (e.g. a better haul than Mitchell?)?

The catch is that whatever team gets Trae cannot repackage him. Your team is paying the $45M through 2027.

Sixers fans, do you trade Maxey for him straight up?
Suns fans, do you trade CP3 for him (remember, no repackaging. So it's him and Booker for eternity)?

My thoughts are that he is similar to Isaiah Thomas. Very good player, but won't be able to shine in the playoffs against top defenses.

Accordingly, package for him would be pretty low for an allstar (again, if I can't repackage). For instance, if instead of giving away Danilo in the Murray trade (this was Danilo+picks to Spurs for Murray+filler) the Hawks gave up Trae and also received Keldon Johnson (so Trae+same picks for Murray+Keldon+filler), I think the Hawks are better. Murray-Johnson-Hunter 1-3 looks better to me this year and into the future. In this scenario, maybe Hawks beat the Blazers to Jerami Grant also and go with a Murray-Johnson-Hunter-Grant-Capela lineup while possibly keep Collins as a supersub.

Do you agree Hawks fans?

To Trae's credit, I think in certain narrow situations he would be great. I think teams with a lot of length, spacing, and frontcourt scoring (e.g. Toronto and Bucks) would improve with a point guard swap for Trae (I'd give up Vanvleet, Trent, and lots of picks for Trae as the fit would be too good, but much less if I'm the Bucks as Jrue complements the Bucks really well). Further, to Trae's credit, his team beat a playoff Knicks team and Sixers team (scaring Ben Simmons out of the NBA).

Re: the Suns: I’d be willing to swap CP3, who’s also at the point of getting hunted by opponents in the playoffs and doesn’t have the range to bend defences the way Trae can. The big gambles would be on salary management and team culture, but it’s worth the risk to create elite floor spacing around a developing Ayton.

CP3 plus picks would be a creative package. Trae/Booker/Ayton is a long term bet I would make easily.

Semi retiring player and late picks? Great value. Hawks must be ecstatic.

[Wolveswin]

Cleveland would be a great fit, or Wolves with Gobert. Maybe Mitchell + picks? Or KAT + Russell for Trae + Collins

Hmmmmm. That Wolves one is interesting.

Gobert
Collins
McDaniels
Edwards
Trae

Would Trae and Edwards work?

[realEAST]

I am really far from being a Trae Young fan, but this thread is disrespecting him significantly.

[Pumpkin17]

Dramatically flawed players like Trae will never be useful as the main guy/highest paid player in order to win a championship.

He can make a team relevant in terms of media exposure and Is useful to sell tickets. He also can fool an incompetent GM of a non contending team in thinking he could lead the team to contending status.

So he could fetch a Gobert/Mitchell kind of return in case of a desperate/incompetent GM but that move will not ultimately lead to success.

He Is a great and fun player which will possibily have a great legacy and be remembered for his style, a la Iverson, Maravich, Jason Williams etc, but him at his salary won't help anyone contending.