Is Trae Young on the way out?

[Jamaaliver]

Spoiler:

The Hawks are willing to wait and see how everything develops this year with a roster they believe can finish as a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference. At no point has Atlanta considered trading Young, as the internal hope is that common ground will be found on a new deal next offseason, sources said.

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[jayu70]

Why this season is so important for Trae Young and the Hawks

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Trae Young shows off the range on trey (0:15)

Ohm YoungmisukOct 27, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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THE EMORY SPORTS Medicine Complex practice courts are quiet after just about all the Atlanta Hawks players have left for the day.

But Trae Young, sitting near the baseline of the two practice courts, can always hear the noise and chatter that surrounds him.

Entering his eighth season, Young is beloved in Atlanta. But his critics, from Patrick Beverley to anonymous online trolls, constantly chirp.

Young can practically recite the gripes against him: "I can't adjust my game. I can't play with this guy or this guy.

"I mean, it's very comical to me," Young says. "It's very funny. There's so many things, man."

After coming within two wins of reaching the NBA Finals in 2020-21, Young and the Hawks have been in four straight play-in tournaments, losing in the first round twice before failing to make it to the postseason the past two years.

BEFORE THE START of the Hawks' second day of training camp, the team's weight room is livelier than normal. Young, now one of the older vets on the team at 27, is jumping around, high-fiving teammates and getting them pumped up before hitting the weights.

"I will say there definitely is a new sense of energy with Trae this year," Okongwu, who is entering his sixth season, told ESPN. "He's always had that, but it's different this year. He's really taking that leap forward in terms of leadership. He's really trying to galvanize the show. We have a really young team, so he's trying to be the guy to lead the youngins and to be a voice for the guys in the locker room.

"Just in terms of communication, I've heard him more this year than I have in previous years, and I commend him for that."

During training camp, Johnson took note of how much Young "has just been smiling." Nothing can dampen Young's excitement about his teammates this season -- not even Beverley.

Two weeks earlier, Patrick Beverley was questioning Young's ability to lead and win. In a brief online beef, the former Clipper said he talked to some of Young's former teammates who questioned his leadership and didn't like playing with the point guard.

Young responded on his podcast by telling Beverley to "state your source" and that he was never intimidated when facing "Patty Bev" -- a standout defender during his 12 seasons.

"He brought us home," Johnson said.

When it comes to silencing the naysayers, perhaps it is not surprising that the Hawks star -- wearing an OU hoodie at the Hawks practice facility -- looks to another famous former Oklahoma Sooner signal-caller as an example.

"You see it playing right now with another OU guy with Baker Mayfield and what winning does for somebody," Young said of the quarterback who has changed the public's perception of himself by guiding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to consecutive playoff appearances since 2024 and a 6-2 record this season. "I get chills talking about it. I know what I can do or what the image of me looks like once I just win.

"Win again."

It's been more than four years since Young became a New York villain and took a bow at Madison Square Garden, waving goodbye to Knicks fans after eliminating New York in five games in the first round in 2021. That was the start of a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals in just his third season.

Perhaps Young thought there would be many more deep playoff runs with clutch shotmaking after that. He isn't taking this chance -- with the best cast he's had around him -- for granted.

"I'm willing to give up the ball," Young said. "It's just you have to have the guys that are out there that want the ball first to make a play, and two, that can draw certain attention when they do get the ball.

"I feel like we got that now."

The week before camp started, Snyder and Young met to discuss their approach for this season. Both men mentioned the word "efficiency" during their talk. Young averaged 11.6 assists but shot a career-low 41.1% from the field and led the league with 4.7 turnovers last season.

"The keyword for Trae is efficiency," Snyder said. "I think what you are going to see is Trae having to feel the game in a way. ... There's games that's going to mean scoring more. There's games where he will be passing more. The constants will be him forcing pace, not just pushing the ball off the dribble but passing ahead. He was one of the best at passing ahead, if not the best.

"The other thing he has to do every night is be efficient defensively ... One of the things we did talk about was me challenging him ... He wants to get better every year."

While teams like Cleveland and New York have had more time together and are expected to be the top two teams in the East, the Hawks hope that they'll eventually soar at the right time to make some noise in the postseason.

If that happens, Young might finally hush the haters like his fellow formerly maligned Sooner quarterback.

"People may get the wrong perception of us because of what you see on social media or what somebody may say about you," Young said. "I understand Baker, when they say, he's a hothead [or] he's crazy. But then when you're winning, now he's a dawg. He's competitive. The whole perspective changes just because you win. That's my main focus. I just want to win.

"That'll change all the narratives."



https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46701366/nba-atlanta-hawks-trae-young-silence-haters-2025-2026-new-teammates

[Jamaaliver]

Why this season is so important for Trae Young and the Hawks

Young, who has a $49 million player option for next season, wants to show Atlanta he is a superstar talent worth the four-year, $229 million max extension he is eligible for.

But in this restrictive second-apron era, Atlanta will wait on an extension. By waiting, the Hawks can see how things go with this retooled roster and still maintain flexibility in case things don't go well, giving them the option to take a new route and build around a promising young core of developing talent. The Hawks and Kristaps Porzingis are also going to wait on a potential extension and see how this season goes.

For Young, the All-Star can explore his options next summer if he does not get an extension later this season. That means he'll have to get used to not having control of his immediate future.

"I think it's going to be great. I'm not worried about it," Young told ESPN when asked about entering the season without an extension.

I really am nervous about the next 7 months -- probably the most nervous since that 2018 draft night.
What plays out over the next season+ will dictate what direction this franchise goes in for the next decade.


I'm honestly unsure what will happen...or even what I want to happen.

[jayu70]

Why this season is so important for Trae Young and the Hawks

Young, who has a $49 million player option for next season, wants to show Atlanta he is a superstar talent worth the four-year, $229 million max extension he is eligible for.

But in this restrictive second-apron era, Atlanta will wait on an extension. By waiting, the Hawks can see how things go with this retooled roster and still maintain flexibility in case things don't go well, giving them the option to take a new route and build around a promising young core of developing talent. The Hawks and Kristaps Porzingis are also going to wait on a potential extension and see how this season goes.

For Young, the All-Star can explore his options next summer if he does not get an extension later this season. That means he'll have to get used to not having control of his immediate future.

"I think it's going to be great. I'm not worried about it," Young told ESPN when asked about entering the season without an extension.

I really am nervous about the next 7 months -- probably the most nervous since that 2018 draft night.
What plays out over the next season+ will dictate what direction this franchise goes in for the next decade.


I'm honestly unsure what will happen...or even what I want to happen.

Things change quickly in the NBA, so I'm just gonna enjoy this season.
Unless it goes completely off the rails.

[jayu70]

I really am nervous about the next 7 months -- probably the most nervous since that 2018 draft night.
What plays out over the next season+ will dictate what direction this franchise goes in for the next decade.


I'm honestly unsure what will happen...or even what I want to happen.

Things change quickly in the NBA, so I'm just gonna enjoy this season.
Unless it goes completely off the rails.

My only nervousness would be being so bad we gift SAS a top pick.

[Jamaaliver]

I really am nervous about the next 7 months -- probably the most nervous since that 2018 draft night.
What plays out over the next season+ will dictate what direction this franchise goes in for the next decade.

My only nervousness would be being so bad we gift SAS a top pick.

I'm with you there.

I do suspect that if this season, so full of hope, falls apart -- some combination of Trae Young, Quin Snyder, Kris Porzingis and/or Jalen Johnson could each be pushed out the door.

Regardless of the reason...

[HMFFL]

36% from the field
5 for 26 (19%) from 3.
Hawks should apply for the DPE because Trae seems disable to me.

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

This 4 week absence due to injury will largely determine Trae's fate in Atlanta.

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