Trae Young answers pivotal question after another early postseason exit

The Atlanta Hawks season ended Friday night with an overtime loss to the Heat. For the second consecutive season, they failed to make the playoffs, getting eliminated in the play-in tournament both times. Losing two games in a row, especially the final one at home with the season on the line, should leave a sour taste in the mouth of players and fans alike.

However, the Hawks have nothing to hang their heads about this season. The front office made the difficult but necessary decision to move on from Dejounte Murray, and the trade is looking like highway robbery, acquiring multiple first round picks and Dyson Daniels, who will likely be named the league’s most improved player and be apart of the NBA’s first-team all defense. That, along with the outstanding development of Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu in the second half of the season, gives Atlanta a young starting lineup worth getting excited about.

The Hawks were unfortunately undermanned after losing rising star Jalen Johnson for the season. Still, they managed to finish better than they did a year ago despite much lower expectations coming into the year. The foundation is set for this team to become a contender, but there’s a lot of work to be done this offseason, including a potential contract extension for star point guard Trae Young.

A day after Atlanta was eliminated, Young was asked if he can win in Atlanta, and Hawks fans will appreciate his response.

Trae Young asked by @AlisonWSB if he can win in Atlanta,

“Of course…I’ve won here before, I haven’t won a championship but I’ve achieved a lot of things here. I know what it takes. I definitely feel I can win here.” pic.twitter.com/XRTyJXyLvV

— Caleb Johnson (@ATLjohnson18) April 19, 2025

The Hawks asked a lot out of Trae Young this year. There were no expectations of winning a championship. Instead, they wanted him to focus on the development of the young players around him. A lot of superstars wouldn’t take too kindly to that, but Young handled it splendidly, and the fruits of him willingly going down that path could be far greater than the alternative.

Trae Young is entering the final year of his contract, as he can opt out following next season. With that will come a lot of questions about his future, but locking him into another long-term extension feels a lot more likely than it did a year ago now that there are so many promising pieces around him starting to come into their own.

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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire

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