Trae Young recently returned to the Atlanta Hawks lineup after a lengthy hiatus brought forth by a knee injury, but the Hawks lost all five games he played in, and he's now back on the mend with a quad injury. That doesn't seem to be a coincidence whatsoever, as the Hawks recently snapped their seven-game losing skid with Young out of the lineup, further fanning the flames of trade rumors involving the former All-Star guard's name.
In fact, there have been plenty of rumors stating that Young's time on the Hawks is coming to an end, especially when he could enter free agency at season's end by declining his player option for the 2026-27 campaign. But the Hawks star isn't lending credence to those rumors, if his cryptic post on X (formerly Twitter) is anything to go off of.
“Consider the source before you consider the statement -❄️,” Young wrote.
It's not quite clear what statement Young is pertaining to exactly, but given how pertinent trade rumors are involving his name, one would think that there is at least a sense of credibility, no matter how little, to those rumblings. And with a little over a month to go before the trade deadline, a resolution to this should come sooner than later.
Are the Hawks a better team without Trae Young?
Young, at his peak, is a double-double machine who sets up his teammates for success. But Jalen Johnson's development into a stat-sheet stuffer and an incredible playmaker for a combo forward has rendered Young's skillset a bit superfluous. It's no coincidence as well that Young wasn't able to get into the swing of things much the last time he played for the Hawks.
If Young isn't the focal point of the offense anymore, he doesn't do nearly enough, particularly on defense, for the Hawks to prioritize him. But with his trade value at its nadir, is it actually worth giving up on him already?
