NBA Trade Rumor: 3-Way Blockbuster Sends Trae Young to Rebuilding Team

Trae Young is on his way out of Atlanta. The Hawks and Young's representatives are working together on finding a new landing spot for the polarizing point guard. Whether there are any truly interested teams willing to give up valuable assets for the pending unrestricted free agent (opt-out for next year), remains to be seen.

But on Wednesday, we've got a proposed three-team blockbuster to go through, that would send Young to one of his prefered destinations, the Brooklyn Nets (again, whether the interest is mutual is very much up in the air). There are several notable players changing hands in this extensive hypothetical deal proposed by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report:

Brooklyn Nets receive:

Trae Young
2028 first-round pick (top-five protected, via ATL, UTA or CLE)

Atlanta Hawks receive:

Tobias Harris
Ron Holland II
Jaden Ivey

Detroit Pistons receive:

Michael Porter Jr.
Cam Thomas
2029 second-round pick (via CLE, from ATL)

The Nets would receive their point guard of the future in this deal, assuming they'd be able to re-sign him to a new extension (something Young is looking for from any team that trades for him). This could fast-track the Nets' rebuild, and would be helped along by the 2028 first-round pick. As Pincus notes, for a team that's always chased stars, "It's not often that a 27-year-old with his accolades hits the open market, let alone reaches it (at a discounted rate)."

Hawks would land Jaden Ivey in proposed 3-team Trae Young deal

For Atlanta, the Hawks would get a young, exciting, explosive combo guard in Ivey to take them into the future. He'll be a restricted free agent this coming summer, as his rookie deal is about to expire. Ivey was on a strong trajectory over his first 2 1/2 seasons with the Pistons, but he's had a reduced role this season as he comes back from serious leg injury problems. He's slowly being reintegrated, while on a minutes restriction. But the Pistons have proven they can win without any big contributions from him, making him a potentially expendable piece.

Holland was the 5th overall pick in 2024, and he would be tough to lose. The small forward would get a fresh start to show his stuff in Atlanta. Additionally, Harris, while not the player he once was, is a legitimate rotation player with size who can score the ball.

Pistons would get some serious scoring punch as 3rd team in proposed Trae Young trade

As for the East-leading Pistons, in return for sending out Ivey (and Harris), they would get a couple of guys who can really fill it up at high rates, in Porter Jr. and Thomas (though the latter has been dealing with extensive absences due to a troublesome hamstring strain). If they hope to be a serious contender in the playoffs, additional scoring is something they desperately need to help take the pressure off Cade Cunningham.