Hawks officially end the Trae Young Era.

A Trade that Happened Mid-Game!

It was reported mid way through the fourth quarter of the Hawks-Pelicans matchup that Trae Young was going to be traded to the Washington Wizards. Shams Charania reported the trade was just a simple swap of players: Trae Young for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. The return for a player like Trae Young is surprisingly low for his accolades and his abilities on the court, but Trae's value shows how the NBA views small guards like him now. With teams relying on jumbo lineups and physicality more in the past few years, it can make it hard for a small guard to thrive. It clearly took a hit to Trae's value to where it basically became a salary dump. 

The Infamous Playoff Run and Clutch Moments 

The season that put Trae Young among the league's best stars was during the 2020-2021 season when he led the Hawks to their first Eastern Conference Game win in franchise history in a 116-113 victory. Trae had arguably the best performance of his career in Game 1 against the Bucks, scoring 48 Points, 11 Assists, and 7 rebounds. During that same year, he led the Hawks to most road playoff wins ever with six road wins. We also saw several comebacks against the teams like the Philadelphia 76ers. Also, no one can forget how clutch he was against teams like the New York Knicks where he silenced the crowd with a game winning floater. Another great memory was in Game 5 against Boston Celtics without Dejounte Murray, Trae Young helped his team pull out a victory and hit a game winner. Trae Young will end his Hawks playoff career averaging 26 points, 9 assists, and 3.4 rebounds. He is arguably the Hawks greatest playoff performer of all time. 

Many fans and players around the league believe if Young didn't roll his ankle on a referee's foot in game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Hawks may reached something they have never done before: a possible finals appearance and a NBA Championship. Sadly, we will never know....

Thank You Trae! 

From all of us here at Hard Knock Hawks, thank you Trae. You gave this organization meaning again and put this city on the map. Through the ups and downs, you always stayed True to Atlanta. The entire fanbase will miss you, regardless of what they say. You changed the lives of many kids and that number 11 jersey will be hung in the rafters one day. The best player since Dominique, thank you for changing the city with that playoff run. We were all True to Atlanta and we all believed. So long Trae...