The Atlanta Hawks announced that point guard Trae Young is making progress in his recovery from finger surgery. The three-time NBA All-Star needed surgery after an MRI revealed a tear of the radial collateral ligament in his left pinkie.
Before getting hurt, Young was averaging 26.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.2 blocks this season while shooting 42.6% from the field, 37.1% from beyond the arc and 85.6% from the free-throw line. He had 35 double-doubles in 51 starts.
One of the best players in the NBA, Young signed a five-year, $215 million extension with the Hawks in August 2021. He’ll make $43 million next season and $45 million in 2025-26.
Young, 25, holds career averages of 25.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.2 blocks.
The Hawks are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings. If the regular season ended today, Atlanta would face the Chicago Bulls in the 9-10 play-in tournament game in Chicago.
Former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins hopes Young gets traded by the Hawks to the San Antonio Spurs this summer. According to NBA reporter Howard Beck of The Ringer, the Hawks discussed a Young trade with the Spurs before this year’s trade deadline.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Hawks “know” they have to trade Young or Dejounte Murray this summer. Both All-Stars are represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group.
Several people around the NBA believe Young wants to play with Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. Young, though, doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so he can’t control where he gets traded if the Hawks decide to move him.
The Los Angeles Lakers will also be heavily linked to Young since the Texas native has the same agent as LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Young attended two Lakers playoff games last year.
At the beginning of March, Young told Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report that he didn’t want to get traded by the Hawks.
Leave a Reply