Lakers Among Favorites to Land $215 Million 2-Time All-Star

Getty Trae Young guards Zach LaVine

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the favorites to land a superstar point guard if he’s traded.

According to the latest odds by SportsBetting.ag, the Lakers have the fifth-best odds (+700) to acquire Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young. The Oklahoma product is represented by Omar Wilkes of Klutch Sports Group, the same agency Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are with.

Young signed a five-year, $215.2 million rookie maximum contract extension with the Hawks in August 2021. He will make $40.1 million next season, $43 million in 2024-25, $45.9 million in 2025-26 and $48.9 million in 2026-27 if he picks up his player option for that season.

A two-time All-Star, Young is averaging 26.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 10.3 assists this season while shooting 42.8% from the field, 32.4% from beyond the arc and 88.5% from the free-throw line. The 24-year-old is ninth in the NBA in points, 11th in points per game, first in assists and second in assists per game. However, the Hawks are only 29-30. They are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Hawks Fired Nate McMillan

The Hawks fired head coach Nate McMillan on February 21. Joe Prunty will be the interim coach while general manager Landry Fields looks for a new leader.

“I would like to thank Nate for his leadership and professionalism during his time with the Hawks. He is truly a class act, and we appreciate the graciousness and work ethic he brought with him every day,” Fields said. “Decisions like these, especially in-season, are always extremely difficult, but we believe it’s in the best interest of our team to move forward with another voice leading the way.”

Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on December 4 that Young and McMillan had a heated exchange that led to Young choosing not to attend the team’s home win over the Denver Nuggets at State Farm Arena on December 2. There was no disciplinary action given by the franchise to Young.

“While Young was receiving treatment on his right shoulder, sources say McMillan asked him whether he would participate in shootaround, receive treatment during walk-through and play in the game against the Nuggets,” Charania and Amick reported. “But Young made it clear that he wanted to focus solely on his treatment while missing shootaround and deciding later in the day whether he would play. That approach, however, was not McMillan-approved. Since the face of the Hawks’ franchise was deciding not to take part in shootaround, McMillan ultimately presented him with two options for that night’s game, sources said: Play off the bench — or do not show up to the arena. Young responded by saying he would not be playing against the Nuggets, and the team ruled him out while citing right shoulder soreness.”

An NBA Source Thinks Trae Young Will Want Out After This Season

In a January 25 story called “2023 NBA Trade Watch: Best Available Guards and Their Top Landing Spots,” Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus posted a quote he received from an NBA source talking about Young’s future. The source told Pincus that Young could request a trade this summer.

“I think Trae will want out after the season,” the NBA source told Pincus. “The Hawks probably try to get out of John Collins and others by the deadline, but Trae’s a long shot. Maybe the [Lakers] in July with his ties to Klutch [Sports].”

Young has career averages of 25.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists.