Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young entered the 2025-26 season without a contract extension. He enters this season in the final year of his deal with a player option ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Young is coming off his fourth All-Star selection while leading the league in assists last season. He averaged 24.2 points, 11.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. His field goal percentage of 41.1 percent was the lowest of his career, and although his Hawks finished with the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, they lost both of their Play-In Tournament games and failed to make it to the playoffs.
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Young sent a clear message via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk regarding his thoughts on starting the season without a new deal.
“I think it’s going to be great. I’m not worried about it,” Young said. “As much as I wish it was, it’s not all in my hands and I can’t control everything. I just can only control the present. And I know if we win, everybody eats … I understand what winning can do.
“If certain things don’t go my way as far as injuries, health and stuff that I can’t control, that may be the man above telling me there’s another plan for me. I’m focused on making sure all my guys, Quin [Snyder] included, get taken care of and succeed.”
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Young, who turned 27 years old last month, knows that the constant opinions regarding his play and his ceiling are swirling, but also knows that there is one way to set the record straight.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions of me,” Young said. “They’ll get changed over time, and I truly believe that.
“And I feel like a lot of it will get changed this year.”
Young is at the helm of a young Hawks team that is looking to disrupt a seemingly wide open East. General manager Onsi Saleh added Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard to a talented roster in hopes to not only get back to the playoffs, but make a worthwhile run this summer.
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