National Basketball Association

Should the Atlanta Hawks consider trading Trae Young?

Updated Apr. 11, 2023 5:53 p.m. ET

Just two years ago, the Atlanta Hawks made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference finals and Trae Young looked like the current and future face of the franchise.

Things have gone downhill in Atlanta since then, however. The Hawks finished eighth in the East for the second season in a row and once again have to survive the play-in tournament for the right to make the NBA playoffs.

Making matters worse, a report from The Ringer on Monday indicated that the Hawks' front office, led by current head coach Quin Snyder, has "a green light" from the front office to do whatever it wants this coming offseason — even if that means trading Young.

Snyder was hired by the Hawks in February and was still coaching the Utah Jazz when the previous Hawks regime drafted and built the team's roster around Young.

Shannon Sharpe reacted to the report on Tuesday's episode of "Undisputed," saying that while he doesn't see Young as a franchise cornerstone, he also doesn't believe it wise for the Hawks to trade their PG based on what they would or would not get in return.

"If he's become more trouble than he's worth, you might have to move him. But what are you going to get for a six-foot point guard? … You can trade him, but I don't believe in moving players just to move players. I gotta be able to get something of value for Trae Young, and when you move a guy like that, you're probably not going to get equal value for him."

Skip Bayless, meanwhile, said he stands by his initial criticism of Young coming into the 2018 NBA Draft, saying that the point guard is too short and plays too recklessly to be a franchise cornerstone.

"He is a turnover nightmare," Bayless said. "Since he entered the league, he has the most turnovers of anybody in the league. He has led the league in turnovers this past regular season and the previous [one]. He's also a nightmare shooting 3-point shots, and he shoots way too many. This year, he fell to 33.5%. That ranked 130th in the league, but he was the eighth-most in attempts. Just do the math."

The Hawks finished the 2022-23 season at 41-41 and face the Miami Heat in the opening game of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament on Tuesday — which made the timing of the initial report interesting to those both outside and inside the NBA.

Young just finished the first year of a five-year, $215 million contract extension that will keep him under team control through the 2026-27 season, which would play a major factor into whatever return the Hawks would seek for Young in a possible trade.