Trae Young (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
A blockbuster trade proposal has the Atlanta Hawks commencing a rebuild by sending All-Star guard Trae Young to a Western Conference heavyweight.
Since their surprise run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2021, the Hawks have taken several steps back. The talent of Trae Young haven’t been enough to help this franchise return to contention, with zero playoff series victories over the last three years.
The Hawks are in a playoff spot with a 12-11 record heading into Friday night’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers. But there’s no way the Hawks, as currently built, would beat a conference juggernaut like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks in a best-of-seven.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey recently proposed a blockbuster trade idea that has Atlanta sending Trae Young to the Lakers, who would form a dynamic “big three” with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
In Bailey’s proposal, the Lakers would send Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 with first-round pick swaps in 2030:
“Young is one of the best and most prolific offensive players of all time. He’d lighten the playmaking load LeBron is currently carrying, potentially prolonging the legend’s already prolonged career. And after LeBron’s retirement, Young and AD could instantly be one of the league’s most dangerous guard-big combinations…
Starting a new era with two extra picks, an extra pick swap and a lot more cap flexibility (the contracts of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent all expire before Young’s) might make some sense.
Building around a pair of big, versatile forwards like Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson could be more likely to yield sustained success than building around one small, defensively challenged guard.
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The Lakers have looked for a third superstar to help James and Davis for quite some time now. The Russell Westbrook blockbuster trade flopped, and Paul George was never a realistic target in 2024 free agency.
Los Angeles is struggling to hold onto a playoff berth with a 12-10 record. James (40 this month) and Davis (31) aren’t getting any younger, so if there was a time to make a move for a superstar like Trae Young, it’s now. This is a player who’s averaging 25.3 points per game for his career, after all.
Trae Young Would Make Lakers The Top Team In West
If the Lakers could pull the strings to land Young, they would undoubtedly emerge as the new team to beat in the Western Conference. Last time LeBron James worked with a bonafide superstar guard (Kyrie Irving), he went to three straight NBA Finals with Cleveland.
