Trae Young and the Hawks have reportedly decided to explore methods of parting ways through a trade for their star point guard. The former All-Star is apparently no longer viewed as a franchise piece, and his representation seems to believe he will be a better fit elsewhere.
Some sources named the Wizards as a potential landing spot for Trae Young to build a whole team around him. But the 27-year-old guard is more likely to seek playoff and championship contention instead of waiting for a rebuild of a franchise around him.
Therefore, some experts have also looked at the potential title contenders and which one could best use Young’s services. And a name that most commonly came up was the Rockets.
Former NBA players Jeff Teague and Kenyon Martin appeared on their respective regular shows and spoke about Trae Young’s fit on the Rockets. They seem to believe that Young needs a team that can cover up his shortcomings on defense.
“I think he has got to be a part of something. I’m not saying Trey Young isn’t a star or a superstar that he is to me, I just don’t think you can build a team around a small guard. Too much stuff has to go right: your two-guard has to be 6’7. Your center has to be defensively minded and whatever,” said Teague on a recent episode of the ‘Club 520’ podcast.
“You can’t just put him out there. A lot of stuff has to go right. But if you can partner him up with a good group, like if you go to a Houston team that got a lot of defensive-minded players, like a Steven Adams out there, Jabari Smith, and then you got KD that he can kind of like play off of.”
“It’ll make his job easier. You got Josh Okogie, who can guard point guards, and these guys that are subbed in and guard these guards. It’ll help him a lot. And then it’ll take a lot of pressure off him. Right now it’s just pressure. But he’s never played in a real big market.”
One of the key criticisms of Trae Young’s career has been his defensive struggles. As much as he is effective on the offensive end of the floor, defensively, he’s treated like a vulnerability.
The Rockets are currently tied for the third seed in the Western Conference and are likely without their veteran point guard, Fred VanVleet, for the rest of the season. With All-Stars like Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun on that roster, Young could be a solid upgrade for that roster if they figure out a deal centered around VanVleet.
But considering that the Hawks are giving up a player of Trae Young’s caliber, they will seek to replace him with high-caliber young talent as well. Therefore, some sources believe a trade package around Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr. is more likely to swing the needle in this case to convince the Hawks to make this trade.
Former All-Star Kenyon Martin also brought up a potential trade package for Trae Young from the Rockets on the Gil’s Arena Show. He believes that a trade package that sends Reed Sheppard and draft picks to the Hawks should be enough.
But former NBA player Rashad McCants (who appeared with Martin on the Gil’s Arena) believes the Hawks will also seek a piece that makes the Rockets a title-contender, like Jabari Smith Jr. or Tari Eason, to create a dent in the Rockets’ ability to become a superteam.
In my opinion, the Rockets should not rush into this deal if including Jabari Smith Jr. is an ask from the Hawks. Trae Young has been the face of the Hawks franchise ever since he was drafted. It is highly unlikely that his defensive vulnerabilities will disappear if he joins the Rockets.
Luka Doncic receives so much criticism for lack of defensive effort on the Lakers, but his career defensive rating (110.9) is much better than Young’s career defensive rating (118.3). This shows how big a risk it would be for the Rockets to get Young.
Moreover, he has been prone to injuries recently, which have restricted him to playing in only 10 games this season. He averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 41.5% from the field and a career-low of 30.5% from beyond the arc.
The Hawks might say that he has career averages of 25.2 points, 9.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds, and he led the league in assists last season. But all of that was when he was the first option on a team that was built around him.
As much as his career averages speak volumes for what he can do as the face of a franchise, they don’t indicate what he would do as a key starter who is not the number one option on a nightly basis.
The Rockets do need a primary facilitator as a guard, but we do not know how Young will perform when he plays off-ball to Durant and Sengun. Therefore, as much as it is exciting for the Rockets to feel a former All-NBA player could join the team, their front office needs to closely assess the pros and cons before making this decision.
