Trae Young isn’t quite at “disappointment” yet when it comes to his lack of a contract extension with the Atlanta Hawks, but he’s close.
Young, speaking at the team’s media day on Monday, was asked about not having a new deal entering training camp this fall. Young is eligible for a four-year, $229 million extension with the franchise. Though he tried to downplay it a bit and insisted that his focus was elsewhere, it’s on the back of his mind.
“I don’t know [about] the word disappointment. I mean, maybe, for sure,” Young said, via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “For me, I’m so focused. I’m more happy about the team that we got going into this season. I’m blessed, bro. I wasn’t stressing about anything. If something happened, it happened. If it didn’t, I still got time.”
Young averaged 24.2 points and a league-high 11.6 assists per game last season while picking up the fourth All-Star nod of his career. The Hawks went just 40-42 last season, however, and missed the playoffs for the second straight campaign under head coach Quin Snyder.
The former No. 5 overall pick out of Oklahoma is entering the eighth season in the league. He has two years left on a five-year, $215 million deal he signed with the franchise ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, and he’s got a player option on that contract for next season before he hits free agency in 2027.
Though Young can still get his extension done, it’s unclear where the two sides are at on that front.
Regardless, Young is trying to focus on getting the Hawks back into the postseason. The team made several major moves this past offseason, including bringing in Kristaps Porzingis from the Boston Celtics and Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Minnesota Timberwolves. They also struck a one-year, $11 million deal with Luke Kennard in free agency.
“I’m focused on this team. I’m focused on right now,” Young said. “I got a great team going into the season that you can’t say I’ve had [before]. So I’m even more excited about that. Who knows what the future is for me. But right now I’m here and I’m present like me and Coach [Snyder] have been talking about. I’m ready to go.”
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