How the Pelicans could help the Hawks make the Trae Young trade easier to swallow
The Atlanta Hawks have had a relatively strong start to the 2025-26 NBA season, currently 13-9 despite lingering injury the absence of star point guard Tree Young. Despite Young being out of the lineup since late October, Atlanta has held up well in the standings, thanks in large part to that appearance of Jaylen Johnson as a bona fide star player.
With that being the case, some have speculated that Atlanta could look to move on from Young in an attempt to build a team that really has no weak links on defense.
Most recently, ESPN’s Tim McMahon and Bobby Marks pointed out how the night trade draft from earlier this year could make that decision easier for CEO Onsi Saleh and company.
“Multiple rival executives have speculated that the Hawks will need to acquire another primary ball-handler to replace Young, whether it’s in a trade for him or otherwise. That deal could come at the top of what is considered a loaded 2026 draft class,” they reported, citing the trade Atlanta made with New Orleans on draft night.
The move, which was widely criticized from the Pelicans’ point of view, represented the Hawks sending their 13th overall pick to New Orleans in exchange for both the 23rd pick and an unprotected 2026 pick swap, meaning Atlanta would have the better of the Pelicans’ and Milwaukee Bucks’ picks expected in next year’s draft.
Currently, the Pelicans are in last place in the Western Conference and the Bucks are in free fall in the Eastern standings, meaning that pick could be very valuable and potentially give the Hawks an opportunity to land an elite point guard at that spot, who would be Young’s replacement in this scenario.
However, the Hawks will certainly want to take a good look at what the team is like when Young returns before making such a decision.
2025-12-03 17:11:00
