In An Offseason of Confusion For the Hawks, Trae Young Commends the Mavericks’ Moves With His Social Media Activity

Is it time for Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks to move on from each other? Young was rumored to be worried about the way the Hawks’ front office built the roster in recent years. The perennial All-Star talent recently liked an X post hailing the Mavericks’ management for making the right moves. Forbes Sports Reporter, Evan Sidery, listed four reasons on X for the Mavs becoming a championship contender.

Sidery pointed out the trade for Kyrie Irving during the 2023 midseason deadline, perhaps the biggest turning point in the Mavs’ recent history.

Then, he highlighted the decision to draft Dereck Lively II, a 7’1” athletic Center, who has wreaked havoc on elite big men like Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. Trading for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford was also a crucial decision that bore fruit for the Mavs in the playoffs.

An X handle, NBA Alerts, sighted Young’s official X account liking Sidery’s post, indicating that he is impressed by the Mavericks’ front office for building a solid lineup around Luka Doncic. It might also imply that he is frustrated with the Hawks which hasn’t made any significant moves since the 2022 offseason when they traded for two-way PG Dejounte Murray.

Perhaps, this is Young’s way of telling people that he isn’t responsible for the Hawks’ turbulent seasons and the blame should be pinned on their management. Additionally, since he was traded for Doncic during the 2018 draft, some prominent voices in Atlanta have lamented the move for missing out on a “seminal” player.

The 25-year-old might be suggesting that the 2024 NBA Finalist has much more help around him so he can ascend further into the playoffs.

The Hawks have been mostly reluctant to give up their draft assets or young players to trade for an established star in the league. Their recent actions suggest that they are looking to build for a future and are identifying a franchise centerpiece. However, there last few seasons have been dismal, to say the least.

The Atlanta Hawks have been miserable for the past two seasons

The Hawks have been on the fringes of the playoffs for the last couple of seasons and have suffered massive blows during the regular season. They have struggled to win even 50% of their games, a massive underachievement for a backcourt of Young and Murray. The franchise didn’t bring in a game-changer to sort out their woes and their defense has been atrocious for the most part.

Young can be partially blamed for these struggles because he had numerous poor shooting nights and didn’t put much effort on the defensive end during many junctures. It can be argued that his offensive load was too high to focus but some of his defensive performances would have turned off the Hawks coaching staff. 

There might be a mutual will to depart. The Hawks have the #1 pick in this draft and a talented Wing Jalen Johnson, who broke out during the 2023-24 season. However, they will likely tank the 2024-25 season and look for a franchise face in the 2025 draft. As for Young, a move to a title contender makes sense at this point in his career.