The Atlanta Hawks had to make a bitter choice. Two years ago when they traded for Dejounte Murray, the fans felt positive. He was looked at as the perfect partner to the keystone Trae Young. Sadly, he couldn’t replicate the defensive impact that he mastered with the Spurs. Additionally, on the court, Young and Murray experienced difficulties. So the Hawks let Murray go to the Pelicans for a few role components and two first-round picks. But it was a calculated gamble from the Hawks.

During the Hoops Collective show, Tim MacMahon discussed the Murray trade and felt confident about Trae Young’s drained market. According to him, if there was a market, Young wouldn’t have been in Atlanta anymore. But did that force the franchise to move Murray? Not exactly. Through the Pelicans exchange, they received an unprotected Lakers pick that could largely benefit them soon.

“It was a bet against the Lakers. Yeah, Dyson Daniels is an interesting young piece but basically they wagered with the Lakers unprotected pick this year, in this draft, they wagered against the Lakers. That was part of what that trade was about,” Brian Windhorst explained the concealed agenda behind the Hawks trading Dejounte Murray.

Before the trade, the Atlanta Hawks were devoid of a pick during the next year’s draft. They lost the rights when they traded three first-round picks for Murray in 2022. Since then, they have added a number one pick, Zaccharie Risacher to their roster to join Trae Young. But the priority of the front office is to develop the roster with time and contend in the postseason. Here’s where the Lakers come in.

The 2025 first-round pick from the Lakers is unprotected. So basically, the Hawks kept in mind the current position of the Purple and Gold and will be hoping for their downfall come next season. As maniacal and cruel as it sounds, that gives them the best odds to land a higher draft pick, aiding them in their redevelopment process. However, the needle still remains intact on Trae Young.

Complications arise over the head of Trae Young

In his six years with the Atlanta Hawks, the club has been to the conference finals once. In the last two seasons, they bounced out of the play-in round, citing the failed experiment between him and Murray.  Now with the way things stand, these poor campaigns seem to have severely struck down his trade value, which was reportedly bleak during free agency.

Trae Young has just one year left on his current contract with the Hawks and effectively has no control over his future. The Hawks are in the power seat. After this season, if Young doesn’t perform to his expected standards, the Hawks could let him walk with a sign and trade. Since they are trying to reconstruct their roster, they won’t mind losing Young for future assets.

The burden is essentially all on Trae Young. After this season, he will be eligible to sign another max contract. But that hinges on the way he plays during the upcoming campaign. The sharpshooter is an extraordinary offensive talent with the ability to string together an entire team. If he can lead the Hawks to a playoff push with the young components around him, they won’t hesitate to offer him the lucrative contract he deserves.

If he doesn’t, it won’t affect his allure. Teams will still crave to have Trae Young running their show. However, whether he will be able to fetch a max contract or not depends upon this season. You could say it is one of the pivotal junctures in his career. Either it reaffirms his status as a superstar or his trade value drops even more.

A complicated path lies ahead.