2. Trae Young
Sometimes everyone can tell when a relationship has run its course, and it seems like we are nearly there with Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. Since Young has been sidelined with a finger injury, the Hawks are 12-10 as Dejounte Murray has steered Atlanta to the end of the season.
It became increasingly clear that the Hawks would need to split up Young and Murray – they simply aren’t better with both of them than with one of them.
Should the Hawks shop one of their guards this summer, they’d likely get more in return for Young. Would the return be worth parting with the franchise player and be enough to retool around Murray, Jalen Johnson, and whatever other pieces the Hawks would keep around? That much is unclear, but most around the league expect the Hawks to at least explore the possibility.
Though Young comes with his warts (poor defense, questionable attitude with his coaches, etc) there is no doubt that he is one of the league’s best passers and pick-and-roll ball-handlers. Pairing Young with a screen-setter like Bam Adebayo is a natural fit and would take the responsibility of carrying the offense off Jimmy Butler.