Chris Paul’s deal with San Antonio should kill any Trae Young trade rumors this offseason

After the Golden State Warriors released him earlier this evening, veteran point guard Chris Paul was now free to sign wherever he wanted. It didn’t take long for him to choose, signing a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

This seemed like a logical fit for both parties. The Spurs needed a point guard to facilitate the offense and pair with Victor Wembanyama, who provides leadership at a lower cost. The other thing this signing should signal is the end of all Trae Young trade rumors this offseason.

Now, obviously anything can happen, but it’s almost certain that Young will still lead the franchise he’s led since 2018. Last week, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported that the Lakers, Spurs and Pelicans were three teams attractive to Young. The Hawks traded Dejounte Murray to New Orleans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance and two first-round picks, with the unprotected 2025 pick coming from the Los Angeles Lakers.

With this trade, the Pelicans and Lakers were no longer destinations. The Lakers’ package for Young has never been more attractive from the Hawks’ perspective and with the 2025 pick coming from Los Angeles, why would the Hawks help them improve?

The Spurs were seemingly the last destination and, honestly, the only one that made sense in the first place. I never thought the Hawks were going to trade Young this offseason, but the only situation that made sense was to send him to the Spurs for their own picks in 2025, 2026 and 2027 and begin a complete rebuild. With the Spurs selecting Stephon Castle with the No. 4 pick and signing Paul, Young no longer makes sense for the Spurs this offseason.

It looked like the Hawks were going to keep Young after trading Murray to the Pelicans on Friday. The Hawks picked up Dyson Daniels in the trade, a seemingly perfect backcourt complement to Young from a defensive standpoint. With Murray gone, there was no chance the Hawks would begin a complete rebuild without their own picks, leaving the Spurs as the only viable destination. Now that the Spurs have two new guards, Young should continue to lead the Atlanta Hawks.

The good news for Young is that the Hawks apparently had a plan this offseason and they are executing it.

I’ve said it before, but the Hawks have failed to build a competent roster around Young. Young’s biggest weakness is obviously his defense and size, which can make it difficult to build a winning team around him, but it’s not impossible.

In the summer of 2022, Atlanta traded for Spurs All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, sending out a ton of future draft capital. Murray was supposed to work alongside Young and improve the Hawks’ perimeter defense, as well as give Atlanta another playmaking player.

It’s safe to say that hasn’t been the case since Murray was in Atlanta. Murray hasn’t been a bad player at all for the Hawks, but he hasn’t been the defensive stalwart they were hoping for when they traded him. He’s been a good player in the locker room and a good leader for the franchise, but the Hawks are going in a different direction, as this trade shows.

It was becoming more and more obvious that the Hawks roster was not built to win around Trae Young and that they were going to have to make adjustments. Atlanta had a goal this offseason to improve on defense, have more size and have better defenders up front and so far, they are succeeding.

Even if this move doesn’t bring back a big name from Atlanta, I think there are a few useful pieces that will help them get closer to their goal. The best part of New Orleans’ comeback in my opinion was Daniels, who is a young player, but has the type of size and athleticism that Atlanta was looking for to help their defense.

Our own Rohan Raman analyzed Daniel’s potential fit with the Hawks:

“I’m very excited to see what Dyson Daniels can bring to this team. He’s a 6-foot-10 guard with a 6-foot-2 wingspan that he uses exceptionally well on defense. He was 13th among all NBA defenders in steals, with 1.4 steals per game, and can defend on the perimeter. I’m especially pleased with how he fits next to Young, as Young’s improvements in defensive effort often go unnoticed due to his physical limitations. Now, Young has a guard partner who can cover some of those defensive breakdowns. He also processes the game quickly and makes great passes. Daniels needs to improve his shooting (he’s only shooting 31 percent from three-point range on limited volume), but he’s young and can easily become a better shooter. I’m betting he’ll have an easier time doing that in Atlanta, as Young will demand a lot of defensive attention, forcing shooters to sag against Daniels.”

Daniels isn’t the only player the Hawks have added so far this offseason who is helping them achieve those goals. The Hawks spent the first overall pick on Zacharie Risacher in the NBA draft and on draft night, Hawks general manager Landry Fields talked about his defense and shooting as important reasons why the Hawks l ‘have chosen :

“Well, you start with what you see is that he’s 2.08m tall and he has the ability to play on both sides of the ball, he has the ability to defend, he is a versatile defender, a very good shooter and a player with a high IQ. You know the level of development he’s had so far is fantastic, he’s only 19, he’ll be 19 all next year and I’ve always said all the important qualities for us in the past, about these types of players and who we ultimately want in the building and he has a significant number of them. »

Risacher is a 6’8, 204 lbs winger who fills a big need for Atlanta. He has two-way versatility and has performed well in his league playoff run since the lottery. He is a plug-and-play type forward who would fit the Hawks as a starting 2 or 3.

Does this mean the Hawks are done recruiting players? No, this is not the case. No one would be surprised if they got rid of Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter. If they got rid of Capela, that would open the door for Onyeka Okongwu to start at center and Nance could back him up. Daniels could either start next to Young or come off the bench. We will have to wait and see if Risacher enters the starting lineup immediately.

Atlanta needs to reshape their roster around Young and do a better job of putting the right talent around him to maximize the team. I think they’re headed in the right direction so far, but there’s still work to be done.