Trae Young Could Be Hinting Toward a Potential Lauri Markkanen Team Up Following His Social Media Activity

We are only a few games away from the 2023-2024 season coming to an end. As the offseason approaches, multiple speculations regarding the players’ future have already started making rounds on social media. These speculations have now linked Trae Young and Lauri Markkanen because of the former’s actions on social media.

A popular X (formerly “Twitter”) account – NBA Alerts – recently revealed that Trae Young has liked a tweet related to Lauri Markkanen on social media. The X post in question praised Markkanen for the incredible season that he has had this year and also listed a few offensive skills that he possesses.

“One of the best shooters & most efficient half-court scorers in the NBA who is also 7ft, mobile, & dunks like this. He’d fit right in as a weapon in Finals-level hoops,” the caption of the post read. It also featured a highlight reel of the Utah Jazz star’s dunk compilations.

It didn’t take long before social media users began speculating about a potential Trae Young-Lauri Markkanen team-up following Young liking the post. Many believe that this may have been a subtle hint for the Atlanta Hawks front office to acquire Markkanen or players with similar capabilities.

The Hawks have had a dismal season this year, finishing 10th in the East with a losing record of 36-46. They really could use a big body like that of Markkanen to create a lob threat in the paint like the Dallas Mavericks did this year with Derrick Lively and Daniel Gafford.

The addition of the Finnish superstar will also allow the team to have another scoring option. If the management figures out a way to develop a big three of Young, Markkanen, and Dejounte Murray, the franchise might be able to witness the same level of success they did during the 2021 postseason.

The Jazz star has one year left in his contract and will receive an annual salary of $18 million next season.

The Hawks also have the 1^st pick of the 2024 draft. Hence, it will be interesting to see how they decide to use that asset.

Trae Young and Co. have the #1 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft

The Atlanta Hawks won the lottery and now have the #1 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. Reports suggest that the franchise is ready to trade their All-Star backcourt duo and rebuild their franchise around their #1 pick.

This idea of parting ways with their backcourt duo might seem a bit bizarre. However, it won’t be a wrong one. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray were projected to be one of the best backcourt duos in the league.

But the two players have failed to live up to the expectations. Much to everyone’s surprise, they never seemed to gel well on the court and didn’t even seem as though they had a special bond outside the four lines. Hence, it makes a lot of sense for the Hawks management to put an end to this experiment and put at least one of the two on the trading block.

If that really happens then Utah could possibly be the destination for Young in the future.