NBA Rumors: Insider explores real reason behind Hawks’ silence on Trae Young extension

August 25, 2025

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Trae Young has been one of the more interesting names to follow in the current offseason. All eyes are on the Atlanta Hawks as they have yet to finalize a contract extension for their franchise player, who has a player option at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, this is because the Hawks organization wants to see Young spend more time with Jalen Johnson, their 6-foot-9 wing who is entering his fifth season in the league. In Stein’s words, more games featuring both Young and Johnson will help the Hawks “make determinations about their big-picture future.”

Over the past four years, Johnson has gone from playing just 22 games and averaging 2.4 ppg as a rookie to becoming a legitimate double-double threat as a starter for the Hawks this past season.

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The former Duke Blue Devil, however, played just 36 games before injuring his shoulder this past January. In the meantime, Young continued to take charge for the Hawks as they struggled to win in a tough Eastern Conference. Though the Hawks could not make it past the play-in tournament, Young ended up leading the NBA in assists, finishing the regular season with 11.6 dimes per outing.

A reunion between Young and Johnson on the court may be coming soon as Hawks GM Onsi Saleh stated in a June press conference that the 23-year-old forward will be ready for training camp.

If Stein's report is accurate, the time spent by Young and Johnson together on the court will be crucial to the Hawks' decision regarding their biggest star's future with the team.

ESPN broadcaster calls Hawks "real wild card" in Eastern Conference thanks to Trae Young and newly acquired former NBA champion

As far as one ESPN broadcaster is concerned, Young's impending partnership with a former NBA champion is the reason why the Hawks will rise through the rankings of the Eastern Conference this season.

In an appearance on "Knicks Fan TV," Mark Jones said that the Hawks could end up surprising other teams in the East with a lethal combination of Young and newly acquired center Kristaps Porzingis.

When asked to give his top teams of the Eastern Conference, Jones said: "I think it's Cleveland, a healthy Cleveland, then probably the Knicks a notch below. The thing that's the wild card for me is the Trae Young-Kristaps Porzingis dynamic."

Jones went on to call the duo a "prolific pick-and-roll dynamic" partly because of Young's proficiency at throwing lob passes and hitting floaters.

About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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