Getty Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls drives against Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.
Though the Brooklyn Nets are not dead in the water after the trade deadline, the departures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have moved them outside of the tier of being title contenders. But after recouping several draft picks in the deals for Irving and Durant, the Nets are in a prime position to land another star.
In the latest trade proposal from @UnbiasedNBAFan on Twitter, the Nets pull off a blockbuster trade for All-Star guard Trae Young, who is currently in the first year of a 5-year, $215 million max contract extension.
Full trade details:
Nets Receive:
Trae Young
Saddiq Bey
Hawks Receive:
Mikal Bridges
Cam Thomas
Joe Harris
Three First-Round Picks
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Trae Young’s Days in Atlanta Could Be Numbered
Young entered the league as a lottery pick in 2018 and three years later was turning heads in the postseason by going on a Cinderella playoff run in 2021 that saw the Atlanta Hawks reach the Eastern Conference Finals. But last year, the Hawks got eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round, and this season they are barely in playoff contention with a lackluster 29-30 record.
Now set to play for his third head coach in five seasons, Brad Botkin of CBS Sports believes that now, Young is the one on the hot seat. And if he doesn’t produce soon, he could be “the next guy heading out” of the Hawks locker room.
“Young has some culpability here, too, and if he isn’t willing to change his game for the next coach that comes in, he could be the next guy heading out of Atlanta. This isn’t about Young’s shooting, which is appreciably down this season and has never been as good as his reputation would suggest. This is about his continued disinterest in being an active off-ball participant,” Botkin writes.
“Part of a coach’s job, of course, is to sell the best player on a system that benefits the whole, the way that Steve Kerr did with Stephen Curry when he went from Mark Jackson’s predictable, matchup-drunk offense (which was also woefully under-performing) to the ball-and-player-movement philosophy that proceeded to win the Warriors four championships.”
Hawks Nearing Deal to Land Quinn Snyder
The Hawks fired head coach Nate McMillan on February 21, less than two years removed from his leading them to the conference finals. It is the second coach that the team has parted ways with since drafting Young in 2018. With minimal success in his last two seasons, some believe the All-Star point guard is developing a reputation as a coach killer.
Per ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks are closing in on a deal with former Utah Jazz coach Quinn Snyder to replace McMillan. He had major success with All-Star Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell and for Young’s sake, he’ll need to duplicate that same type of success in Atlanta.
“The Atlanta Hawks and Quin Snyder are progressing in talks on a deal to make him the franchise’s next coach and a resolution could be reached within days, sources told ESPN on Friday. Since firing coach Nate McMillan on Tuesday, the Hawks have made Snyder the full focus of the coaching search,” Wojnarowski writes.
“Snyder has been engaged with general manager Landry Fields, assistant GM Kyle Korver, and owner Tony Ressler on a wide range of philosophical and team-building items in recent days and those conversations are expected to continue through the start of the weekend.”