NBA Insider: Hawks Know They Have to Trade Trae Young or Dejounte Murray in Offseason

One NBA insider believes the struggling Atlanta Hawks "know" they must deal either Dejounte Murray or Trae Young this offseason.

Marc Stein provided the report: "As another league observer — one well-acquainted with the Hawks' dynamics — put it to me recently: 'They know they have to trade one or the other.'"

Murray's name was included in trade talks before the Hawks opted to keep him before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

Regarding Young, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, there are "several front offices that listened to Atlanta's pre-deadline chatter and came away from conversations with the Hawks of the belief Trae Young could become available for trade this summer."

Fischer mentioned the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs as possible landing spots.

Ultimately, the 24-29 Hawks, who sit 10th in the Eastern Conference and are in grave danger of missing the playoffs, must do something this offseason to turn the franchise's fortunes around.

The Hawks have been on a downward trajectory ever since making the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. Atlanta advanced to the playoffs via the play-in tournament over the next two years before bowing out to its first-round opponents in the top-seeded Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

The Hawks will more likely than not make the play-in tournament again, but even that's not a guarantee with the Brooklyn Nets two-and-a-half games back in 11th. Ultimately, the Hawks are a fringe playoff team and nowhere close to a championship-contending one, and now the question is what they can do moving forward.

Atlanta landed the talented and versatile Murray before the 2022-23 season, but that hasn't been the move to vault the team up the standings. The Hawks had hoped it would be before this season, signing Murray to a four-year, $120 million extension. Young is on a five-year max deal ($215 million) through 2027, with a 2026-27 player option.

Based on the smoke surrounding those two, though, this could very well be their last year together in Atlanta. Murray in particular garnered interest from both the Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans before the trade deadline, per Fischer, before the Hawks kept him aboard.

So the Hawks are a team to watch this offseason. For now, though, the focus remains on making the playoffs for the fourth straight year.