ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are working together to find a trade partner leading up to the Feb. 5 deadline. The Portland Trail Blazers absolutely should not be one of those potential landing spots.
Sure, Young would help Portland's offense with his playmaking and three-point shooting, two areas they desperately still need to address at the deadline. But there's a reason the Hawks are exploring trade options for their polarizing star: it's because they're better off without him!
Young has only played ten games this season as he's dealt with leg injuries. Atlanta won just two of those ten games.
Without Young, they have a 15-12 record.
Other factors have contributed to these differing records, such as the health of big man Kristaps Porzingis. It's also not a substantial sample size. That said, this was too drastic a difference in records for Atlanta to ignore, and that should also be the case for Portland.
Trail Blazers (and Hawks) are better off without Trae Young
Unsurprisingly, the Hawks allowed almost 10 more points per game in those 10 games with Young (126.7) than without (117.4). The Blazers established a defensive identity this summer when they swapped Anfernee Simons for Jrue Holiday with the Boston Celtics, and taking on Young would be reverting any progress they've made.
It sounds appealing now with Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Blake Wesley all sidelined in Portland's backcourt. But this is too expensive a solution for what is hopefully a short-term problem.
Young is one of the highest-paid players in the league, owed $46 million this season with a $49 million player option in 2026-27. If you think Holiday's contract is bad, this is substantially worse, especially considering the lack of two-way impact Young makes.
The one thing in favor of a trade is that Young's trade value has gone to essentially nothing. The Washington Wizards are rumored to be a landing spot with CJ McCollum's $30.7 million expiring contract used as a salary filler. But even then, it was unclear if Atlanta would have to attach draft capital to incentivize Washington to take on that extra year of Young's contract.
If the Blazers could offload Jerami Grant and get one less year themselves, this may be worth exploring, but it's unlikely Atlanta would want to do that. Part of the reason behind exploring a trade for Young is that they could pursue Anthony Davis from the Dallas Mavericks. They didn't want to take on both salaries next season with the risk of Young picking up that player option. The same logic would apply to Grant, as Atlanta wants to preserve financial flexibility.
So not only does Young not fit the Blazers' identity, but they also don't have a clear pathway to acquiring the divisive star. That could be a blessing in disguise, as both Atlanta and Portland are better off without him.