Kyle Kuzma Says Hawks Are 'Sick' for Leaking Trae Young Trade Rumor Ahead of Play-In

The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly no longer sold on Trae Young as their franchise star, and other players around the league are taking notice.

Washington Wizards forward and free-agent-to-be Kyle Kuzma (player option) called the Hawks "sick" for leaking their willingness to listen to offers for Young ahead of Atlanta's play-in tournament matchup with the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.

It's worth noting we do not know how Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer, whose report led to Kuzma's comments, came across the information. O'Connor's report said the Hawks front office has the "green light from ownership to do whatever it wants to with the roster, which includes considering trade opportunities involving All-Star point guard Trae Young."

That does not mean Atlanta is actively shopping the two-time All-Star, who saw his shooting splits regress to career norms after setting career highs across the board in 2021-22. Young averaged 26.2 points and 10.2 assists and remains a star-level talent but is a defensive liability and has never led the Hawks to more than 43 wins in a regular season. (However, Atlanta was 41-31 in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, which translates to a 46- or 47-win pace.)

Atlanta has finished the regular season eighth in the Eastern Conference each of the last two years.

The fact that the Hawks would think about trading Young is a bit of a surprise given he's just 24 years old, but teams consider things all the time. Jaylen Brown has seen his name in trade rumors for half of his career in Boston and managed to not only stay but also thrive as a Celtic.

Even though we're not sure who leaked the rumor, Kuzma's not wrong in saying the article being publicized a day ahead of the play-in will do little to help locker room camaraderie.