Grade the trade: Heat land polarizing star from playoff contender

Why it won’t happen

While both teams do get a lot out of the deal, we rarely see players of Young’s stature get traded to a division rival. If the Hawks could get a similar package from a team in the Western Conference, they’d likely prefer to ship him further away than having to face him four times a season.

For example, if the Lakers offered Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino and draft compensation, the Hawks would have to consider that package even though it doesn't include a prospect as highly regarded as Jaquez.

The closest thing I can recall to an inter-division trade like this would be when the Philadelphia 76ers traded Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden. Even then, Simmons had fully fallen out of favor with the Sixers and Joel Embiid had already established himself as the face of the franchise. Harden was never fully part of the fabric of the Nets fanbase.

So while a deal like this could help both teams, I don’t see it happening. For creativity, the trade gets an A-. For viability, it gets a D.