The Atlanta Hawks made a bold move recently, reshuffling their front office hierarchy. President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk, who is mostly responsible for helping get the franchise back on track in recent NBA seasons, was being moved into a senior advisory role alongside owner Antony Ressler. General manager Landry Fields is ready to take on a bigger role as a result of the change.
A big reason for the change was reportedly the disconnect that Schlenk had with the front office and the lack of relationships with the players. Fields reportedly has a strong connection with Trae Young, which is going to become very important in the coming months.
It has been reported that Young could be the next young superstar to request a trade from his team should things not turn around in Atlanta. Tensions are rising between him and head coach Nate McMillan since what they deemed was a miscommunication led to Young sitting out a game earlier this season.
That is a power struggle McMillan would almost certainly lose. One NBA scout believes that McMillan would be fired before the Hawks entertained the idea of trading Young. Atlanta has dumped a lot of resources and money into building their roster around Young, but we have seen that sort of thing doesn’t always matter. If a player wants a change of scenery, they will do whatever it takes to achieve that.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks & Miami Heat Updates
Should trade discussions centered around Young get serious, there are a few teams around the league that would certainly be interested. It takes a lot to build a team around Young that fits his skill set, but some teams already have the infrastructure in place that would help him succeed.
Over at SportsBetting.AG, some odds were made about where Young could end up should he be traded by the Hawks. The odds-on favorite to land Young is the franchise that technically selected him and promptly traded him to Atlanta in the Dallas Mavericks at +250. Right behind the Mavericks are the Miami Heat at +350 and Boston Celtics at +400.
Dallas’ need for another ball handler alongside Luka Doncic has been well documented, but they do not currently have the assets to acquire a player of Young’s caliber. Miami’s offense could use a spark and Young would certainly provide one. His deficiencies on defense are certainly concerning, as Young doesn’t fit the mold of the kind of player that Pat Riley usually seeks out.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks & Miami Heat Updates
Boston has a legitimate championship-worthy roster. It would be hard to imagine them making a move as big as adding Young, whose fit would be questionable at best. It would likely require a player such as Jaylen Brown to have a legitimate chance at landing Young and for the Celtics, that would not be a worthwhile swap to make.
