NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 10: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts after a foul call during the third quarter of the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on April 10, 2025 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty)
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Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young became eligible to sign a four-year extension worth as much as $228.6 million in early July. The San Antonio Spurs recently handed De’Aaron Fox that exact same deal shortly after he became extension-eligible on Aug. 3, but the Hawks don’t appear likely to follow suit with Young anytime soon.
On Sunday, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported “there are no plans for Young and the Hawks to engage in extension talks this summer.” He added that “Young’s side has actually been resigned for some time to the prospect of seeing out the final guaranteed year on his current contract, rather than securing an extension.”
That reportedly isn’t sitting well with Young, though. He recently posted this on X as a response to Dallas Cowboys star edge-rusher Micah Parsons requesting a trade amidst his own contractual standoff.
During a recent episode of ESPN’s NBA Today, Marc J. Spears of Andscape said, “What I’m hearing now, at this point—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.”
Young is earning $46.0 million this season, and he has a nearly $49.0 million player option for the 2026-27 campaign. If he declines it, he could be one of the marquee free agents in a class that’s quickly losing high-end talent because of extensions. Aside from Fox, both Luka Dončić and Jaren Jackson Jr. took themselves off the potential 2026 free-agent market by signing max extensions with their respective teams.
So, why did the Spurs hand Fox a max extension while the Hawks aren’t willing to do so the same with Young, even though Young has been more prolific than Fox both from a scoring and playmaking standpoint? Each team’s long-term financial situation may provide some clues.
The Hawks’ Long-Term Financial Uncertainty
The Spurs project to have plenty of financial flexibility over the next few seasons even after signing Fox to a max deal. Victor Wembanyama won’t become extension-eligible until next summer, so his inevitable max contract won’t kick in until 2027-28. Stephon Castle will follow suit one year later, while No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper is just heading into the first year of his four-year rookie-scale contract.
At some point, the Spurs will have to decide which of Fox, Castle and Harper are long-term keepers alongside Wembanyama. They could have as many as three years before they’re forced into making those choices, though.
The Hawks don’t necessarily have that luxury. They already have significant long-term financial commitments to Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu trough the 2027-28 campaign. If they pick up their team options on 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, they’ll have $73.4 million committed to that quartet alone in 2025-26, $74.3 million in 2026-27 and $79.5 million in 2027-28.
If Young was the Hawks’ only major financial variable remaining, they’d be able to squeeze in a max contract for him and still stay far away from any luxury-tax or apron issues. However, they also have to contend with Kristaps Porziņģis and Dyson Daniels, both of whom are likewise heading into contract years.
Daniels is fresh off a breakout campaign in which he averaged a league-high 3.0 steals per game en route to the Most Improved Player award and a second-place finish in the Defensive Player of the Year race. The Australian combo guard still isn’t much of a three-point shooter, but his game-wrecking potential on defense should still earn him a hefty payday, whether from the Hawks or another free-agent suitor in 2026.
Porziņģis is more of a wild card, particularly after a mysterious illness limited him for the final few months of this past season. The 30-year-old was a major X-factor for the Boston Celtics during their march to the 2023-24 championship, but his lengthy injury history could scare teams off from offering him a massive fully guaranteed contract.
Both Porziņģis and Daniels are also eligible to sign extensions with the Hawks, although the rules are different for both players.
If Daniels doesn’t come to terms with the Hawks by the start of the regular season, he’ll no longer be eligible to sign an extension. Instead, he’ll become a restricted free agent next offseason. Although eight teams are currently projected to have salary-cap space in 2026, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, plenty can change between now and then. The ongoing, drawn-out sagas of Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas this offseason could make Daniels think twice about testing restricted free agency next summer, even though the cap-space outlook appears to be more friendly.
Since Porziņģis is on the final year of a non-rookie-scale contract, he’ll remain extension-eligible through June 30. However, the Hawks can only tack on three more years to his deal until Jan. 7, at which point he’d become eligible for a four-year extension. His new deal can start at only 120% of what he’s set to earn this season until that January date as well. After that, his new extension could begin at 140% of what he’s earning this year.
If the Hawks re-sign all three of Young, Daniels and Porziņģis, that could push the notoriously tax-averse franchise well abve the luxury-tax line. With that in mind, the Hawks might prefer to wait and see how new offseason acquisitions such as Porziņģis, Alexander-Walker, sharpshooter Luke Kennard and rookie forward Asa Newell fit together before making that sort of a long-term financial commitment.
Does Trae Young Fit Into The Hawks’ Puzzle?
Young has earned an All-Star nod in four of the past six seasons, has averaged at least 24 points per game in each of those years and is fresh off leading the league with a career-high 11.6 assists per game this past season. However, he also shot a career-worst 41.1% from the floor, averaged a horrific 4.7 turnovers per game and has long been one of the worst defenders in the NBA.
Having Alexander-Walker, Daniels, Johnson, Porziņģis and Okongwu alongside Young could help insulate the Hawks from his defensive miscues. But given his diminutive stature (6’1″ and 164 points), he’s always going to have a bullseye on his back defensively as soon as the playoffs roll around. The Hawks’ surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 was fueled in part by the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers lacking the personnel to relentlessly hunt Young on defense.
Since the Hawks don’t have the luxury of being able to negotiate with Daniels in-season, he figures to be their primary focus for the time being. If they’re able to come to terms with him, they’d have a better sense of exactly how much he’ll cost over the coming years and how much financial flexibility they’ll have for Young and/or Porziņģis.
Once the season begins and the Hawks see how their new offseason pieces fit together, they’ll have a better sense of whether this exact core is worth building around moving forward. If they can’t take advantage of the wide-open Eastern Conference as Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton recover from Achilles injuries, that may be a glaring red flag.
With Young at the helm, the Hawks have boasted a top-12 offense in four of the past five seasons. However, they’ve been 19th or worse in points per possession allowed over the past four years. Young’s offensive acumen can help fuel an elite offense, but how much does that matter if they’re giving up just as many points on the other end of the floor because of him?
Those are the types of questions that the Hawks might want to see their new-look core answer before they make another long-term commitment to Young.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
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