Insider forecast: Whether the Hawks trade Trae Young or not, trading activities will be active

Even if the Hawks don't trade Trae Young, Atlanta's offseason will seem to be extremely busy. The Atlanta Hawks seem to be about to usher in a busy offseason after a disappointing loss in the play-offs. The Hawks bid farewell to the playoffs for the second consecutive year, extending the playoff series victory drought to four years. With Landry Fields' dismissal, the new general manager is about to take office, which could mean that Atlanta's roster will be partially or thoroughly adjusted.

While it remains to be seen whether the new general manager will trade star point guard Trae Young, Atlanta will reportedly take some action regardless of whether Trae Young trades.

"Whether the Hawks are willing to trade Young in the offseason, they are likely to be actively involved in the trade," wrote Mark Stan and Jack Fischer of the Stan Line.

"The reason is: Atlanta has relatively abundant cap space. According to the free agent trade results of Clint Capela, Caris LeVere and Larry Nance Jr., Atlanta should have a lot of flexibility to absorb the team's cap space this summer and serve as the coordinator of the deal."

If Young continues to stay in Atlanta, he seems to be perfectly fitting with some of the youngest players on the team; Jaylen Johnson and Dyson Daniels have both proved themselves to be efficient and complementary players, and 2024 No. 1 pick Zachary Rissacher has also shown potential in his rookie season.

Despite this, the Hawks' roster still has a lot of room for improvement. Apart from Young, Atlanta has not had an All-Star player since 2017, and the potential star Dejunta Murray they introduced failed to do so, which also dragged the team down. Before the season began, the Hawks traded Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Daniels, Nance and the draft pick.

In 2021, Atlanta reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in six years, forcing the final NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks into the semi-finals. However, the Hawks have never won the playoff series since then; in 2022, they lost 1-4 to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, and then lost to the Boston Celtics in six more games in the following season.

The past two seasons, Atlanta ended in a play-off: Atlanta lost to the Chicago Bulls in 2024, and Atlanta lost to the Orlando Magic and the Heat in the play-offs respectively this season.