Within the last week, a pair of star point guards have finalized maximum-salary extensions with their respective NBA teams: Luka Doncic signed a three-year deal with the Lakers, while De’Aaron Fox completed a four-year contract with the Spurs.
Hawks guard Trae Young has been eligible since the start of July for the same extensions that Doncic and Fox just signed (up to $222.4MM over four years), and while his NBA résumé doesn’t quite stack up to Doncic’s, it compares favorably to Fox’s.
Young has made four All-Star teams (Fox has one All-Star nod) and led Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. He has a career scoring average of 25.3 points per game and led the NBA with a career-high 11.6 assists per game in 2024/25.
Still, there have been no indications that the Hawks and Young are engaged in serious discussions about a new deal or that an extension agreement is imminent, as an ESPN panel discussed during Tuesday’s episode of NBA Today (YouTube link; hat tip to RealGM).
“Trae has done a lot to show that he’s invested in the Hawks,” ESPN’s Marc J. Spears said. “Nickeil Alexander-Walker, (Luke) Kennard, he convince them to sign with the Hawks. Instead of going to the Jordan (Brand event in Greece) this summer, he came to Summer League and he got to meet with (new senior VP of basketball operations) Bryson Graham… (and) some other new front office guys. There’s a new front office in Atlanta that’s trying to make decisions.”
In addition to adding Alexander-Walker and Kennard in free agency, the Hawks made a trade for big man Kristaps Porzingis and will get forward Jalen Johnson back after a shoulder injury ended his 2024/25 season early. Atlanta has been lauded for its offseason work and is viewed as a strong playoff contender in the East after being eliminated in the play-in tournament this past spring.
While it remains possible that the Hawks and Young will work out a new multiyear deal at some point in the next couple months, Spears believes the season may begin without an extension in place for the star point guard.
“What I’m hearing now at this point – and you can tell by Trae’s tweet and I saw him during the Finals – I think he’s disappointed that it hasn’t come, it hasn’t been offered,” Spears said of a potential extension. “So don’t be surprised if he plays this out and sees what happens next summer.”
The tweet Spears was referring to was posted by Young last week in response to star NFL pass rusher Micah Parsons, who submitted a trade request to the Dallas Cowboys in the midst of a public contract standoff.
“This why you pay the man early,” Young wrote. “When someone will take less early to stay in a place he wanted to be forever, you do it… the price only goes up now! Get what you deserve bro!”
We don’t know for sure whether Young’s remarks about Parsons’ situation can be applied to his own contract negotiations with the Hawks or whether he’s willing to accept less than his max to finalize an agreement this summer. Still, the fact that Young chose to post that comment publicly raised some eyebrows.
As talented a scorer and passer as Young is, the Hawks also have to weigh the fact that his 41.1% field goal percentage in 2024/25 was a career low and he has never been an especially strong defender. The new-look front office, led by general manager Onsi Saleh, may also want to evaluate his fit with the team’s new players before making a massive long-term investment in the 26-year-old.
Young will earn about $46MM in 2025/26 and holds a player option worth just shy of $49MM for the ’26/27 season. He would remain extension-eligible during the coming season as long as he declines that player option as part of an extension agreement.
