Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young is eligible to sign a long-term contract extension with Atlanta this summer, but with the start of training camp only weeks away, the two sides have yet to come to terms on a deal.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Hawks are eager to see Young alongside forward Jalen Johnson before they make a decision on the team’s future. Johnson didn’t suit up in even half of Atlanta’s 82 games in the 2024-25 campaign.
“I’m told that the Hawks are eager to see more of Young alongside versatile swingman Jalen Johnson — who was limited to 36 games last season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury — as they make determinations about their big-picture future,” Stein wrote. “Atlanta will have both Johnson and [Kristaps] Porzingis flanking Young next season and expect further development from the promising duo of Most Improved Player award winner Dyson Daniels and 2024’s No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher.”
Johnson was one of the breakout players of the 2024-25 campaign before he went down with his season-ending injury, as he averaged 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest in his fourth pro season.
How the Hawks fare in the 2025-26 season could give them a solid indicator of how far they can go with Young as their best player, as he might have the best supporting cast around him of his pro career in the coming season. The team’s starting lineup projects to be stacked with Porzingis, Johnson, Risacher and Daniels potentially all sharing the court.
On top of employing a highly talented starting lineup, Atlanta has bolstered its bench in light of some offseason moves it made. The team added guards Luke Kennard and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the fold. The former is one of the elite 3-point shooters in the NBA today, while the latter finished with the sixth-most votes for the Sixth Man of the Year award last season.
If the Hawks follow the trend of recent years and experience little to no success in the 2026 NBA Playoffs with Young leading the offense, it could be time question whether he could ever be the best player on a championship team. Young led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, but Atlanta hasn’t so much as won a playoff series since then.
In an Eastern Conference that looks noticeably weak compared to a season ago, it could be imperative to Young’s future with the Hawks that the team enjoys a lot of success in the coming season and is one of the best squads in the East both in the regular season and playoffs.
