Lakers Must Be Patient on Potential Trade for Hawks’ Trae Young amid NBA Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers have enough trade chips to land an NBA star.

They’ll only get one crack at it, though, so they need to make sure that whenever (if ever) they splurge, they do so for the right player.

Atlanta Hawks lead guard Trae Young may not be that player—despite being a three-time All-Star who routinely ranks among the Association’s top producers at the position.

For now, the Lakers have reportedly recognized as much. They “have shown little recent interest in Young,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported on Friday. The scribe added that things “could change if the price drops to L.A.’s liking,” but who knows when (or if) that might happen or how low the Lakers would need it to fall to rekindle their interest.

A bargain trade for Young might have its merits, but then again, L.A. could be better off exploring other options.

Granted, there are certain boxes he could check. The Lakers could use additional playmaking, and he has averaged double-digit assists in consecutive campaigns. A support scorer would be helpful alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and Young has been a 25-plus-point scorer each of the past five seasons.

And while his three-point percentage hasn’t overwhelmed (career 35.5 percent), his shooting volume (7.3 attempts per game) could help unlock an offense that figures to stress the three-ball more under new coach JJ Redick.

So, why isn’t Young the answer for L.A., then? Well, it’s a couple things.

First, to maximize his impact, the Lakers would have to put the ball in his hands during the majority of his floor time. That isn’t as beneficial as his counting categories would lead you to believe. For an offensive specialist, you’d want to see better efficiency (he shot 43 percent overall this past season) and fewer turnovers (4.2 per contest for his career).

His value leans toward the offensive end, but his presence doesn’t guarantee his team offensive success. The Hawks were 12th in offensive efficiency this past season, per NBA.com.

Young would have to fit into an established ecosystem like the Lakers have constructed where he wouldn’t be first or second on the Purple and Gold’s pecking order.

The Lakers don’t have enough trade chips to seek out a mulligan if things go awry, and the payroll would only grow harder to manage with his contract added to it.

The idea of adding Young might sound fun in theory, and there are ways in which he could help. Run a quick pros-vs.-cons comparison, though, and it feels like this isn’t a move the Lakers need to rush into as they continue to explore ways to bolster the roster at this early stage in free agency.