Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) drives to the basket against Sacramento Kings forward Trey Lyles (41) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center.
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Hawks have had an interesting offseason, mostly improving around the margins while some teams around them in the East have made splashier moves. The Hawks rode a hot stretch into the playoffs last year after trading former franchise point guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in what was viewed as a salary dump (although CJ McCollum had something to say about that).
Finding a trade partner for the former lottery pick was no easy task for Atlanta, as even the Sacramento Kings didn't have much interest in getting into the Young business.
“The Kings, of course, had been offered Trae Young at one point in exchange for Zach LaVine. LaVine to Atlanta and Trae Young to the Sacramento Kings. The Kings said no to that deal from what I know, very specifically according to a source of mine,” reported James Ham of Locked on Kings (Sacramento), via HoopsHype.
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Ham cited the Kings' unwillingness to pay Young a long-term extension as the reason for their hesitation. Young ultimately ended up getting that long-term deal with the Wizards, who also made a trade for former Dallas Mavericks big man Anthony Davis at the trade deadline this past season, in addition to drafting AJ Dybantsa number one overall.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are looking to build off the success of the end of last season, having surged into the playoffs as the six seed and taking the New York Knicks further than any other team was able to (although their historically bad Game 6 performance in that series took away some of that goodwill).
In any case, the Hawks are slated to kick off their new season on October 21 on the road vs the Orlando Magic.