The Surprising Reason Why Trae Young Was Not Traded This Summer

We came into this offseason fully expecting the Atlanta Hawks to trade mercurial point guard Trae Young. Instead, they dealt his more well-rounded star backcourt mate Dejounte Murray, and Young is still in the ATL.

So why didn't a trade materialize? Quite simple, says insider Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Nobody wanted him.

The simple fact of the matter is that if there was a real market for Trae Young, he'd be elsewhere right now. It's not like they got some kind of wild blockbuster return for Dejounte Murray... There wasn't a real market for Trae Young. He doesn't necessarily need to reestablish a trade market for himself, but as extension talks are coming, he does need to reestablish his value.

Young has two years remaining on a five-year, $215 million contract, and there likely aren't many teams around who want to pay $43 million next season to a small guard, who, while dynamic on offense, doesn't contribute to winning and doesn't play defence.

The 25-year-old three-time All-Star had apparently indicated earlier this summer that the LA Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs were three destinations he'd be cool with landing in. However, the Spurs weren't interested and went out and got Chris Paul, the Pelicans dealt for Murray, and the Lakers likely don't have the assets (or maybe even the interest) to get a deal done.

So Young will go into his 7th season with the Hawks, with the team nowhere close to being a contender, and handcuffed on being able to unload him. They went 36-46 last season, taking a big step back. Young averaged 25.7 points, 10.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 37.3% on threes.