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Trae Young’s trade saga gets key update before Hawks-Raptors originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks might be headed for a split soon.
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As the 2025-2026 NBA season carries on, the Hawks have roughly one month to find out whether they are ready to cut ties with their franchise star yet or not.
Dating back to the offseason, it was becoming clear that the Hawks might be uncertain about Young’s future in Atlanta as the two parties didn’t agree on an extension.
As the Hawks have been more successful without Young in the lineup for a long stretch this year, the rumors are growing as the trade deadline approaches.
Trae Young Trade Rumors Get a Key Update
NBA Insider Marc J. Spears offered an update on Young on Monday afternoon.
Basically, the messaging coming from Atlanta—seemingly from Young’s side—is that he isn’t closed off to the idea of a change of scenery.
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“This is a guy who saw Kevin Durant leave Oklahoma City as a kid and saw how that was, and he wants to continue, whether he’s there or gone, to have a connection with Atlanta,” Spears said of Young.
“So I don’t think he’s asking for a trade, but I don’t think he’s telling him not to trade him. I’m hearing he’s open-minded to being moved. He and Kristaps Porzingis haven’t really played much together, and we don’t know what that looks like. But without an extension, and Trae seems to be blamed for a lot of the things, fair or unfair, I do think he would certainly be open-minded to a new uniform.”
The Hawks are sitting 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 17-10 record. They’ve won just two of their last 10 games.
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Although Young returned to the court after a long absence on December 18, he was healthy for just five out of the six games. He has now missed four straight games for Atlanta and will be out for a fifth on Monday night.
With Young this year, the Hawks are 2-8. Without him, they have a record of 15-12. They will face the Toronto Raptors on Monday night on the road.