Sportsnaut
A new report opens the door even wider to Trae Young taking his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers or Chicago Bulls next summer.
“The long-term outlook for Trae Young in Atlanta is murky at the minimum at this point,” ESPN NBA insider Tim McMahon reported on the Hoop Collective. “This is a guy who has been the face of the Atlanta Hawks for seven years. He’s averaged 25 and 10. You know, just led the league in assists. His offensive production has been elite.
“But there are question marks about whether this is going to, you know, be a long-term marriage… I get taking a cautious approach to committing to Trae Young as a maximum-salaried face of a franchise if you’re trying to put together a contender.”
Young has two years left on the five-year, $215 million extension he got in 2022. However, next season is a player option, and there has been a lot of speculation that he can opt out to, arguably, be the top free agent available next summer.
Trae Young can be knocked for his limited success in the NBA playoffs and defensive deficiencies. But there is no doubt he is an elite offensive player. He has averaged over 25 points and nearly 10 assists per game for his career. So he will have many suitors for his talents on the open market. If he opts out of his deal next summer.
The Lakers have been linked to a potential Trae Young trade in recent years. However, when the Hawks traded DeJounte Murray before last season, it looked like the team chose to go forward with the fifth overall pick in 2018, and the trade rumors died after a strong showing last season.
While they have an elite ball handler with Luka Doncic, the superstar has shown in the past that he likes playing with an elite scoring guard in the backcourt — see Jalen Brunson and Kyrie Irving. Furthermore, various signs point to the Lakers having a good amount of cap space available next summer.
The Bulls are also expected to have a lot of cap space in summer 2026. They are likely to re-sign guard Josh Giddey this year. But they lack an elite go-to scorer after moving on from Zack LaVine and DeMar DeRozan over the last year. Young would be that, and also hurt a division rival if he signed with Chicago next summer.
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