As Trae Young exited the court, ejected from a painful Play-In Tournament loss to the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks were left pondering what comes next. Atlanta will have another chance to make the playoffs, but in its third consecutive season with a losing record, the franchise is now left to ponder if Young is the ideal focal point moving forward—as well as who could've been.
In the process, roughly two months after the Los Angeles Lakers were gifted Luka Doncic, they received a second reason to be grateful to the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas selected Doncic at No. 3 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. It was the byproduct of a draft-night trade for the ages, as the Mavericks ended up with Doncic and the Atlanta Hawks added multi-time All-Star point guard Trae Young.
Fast forward to 2025 and both Doncic and Young have been players the Lakers have either nearly or actually acquired via trade.
Months before Doncic was sent to Los Angeles, the purple and gold were linked to Young in incessant trade rumors and speculation. Nothing ultimately materialized, but the notion that Anthony Davis and Young would be the star duo of the future was at least somewhat realistic.
Instead, the Mavericks sent Doncic to the Lakers, and the Hawks continued down what's become a polarizing path with Young at the helm.
If Mavericks drafted Trae Young over Luka Doncic, where would Lakers be?
In an alternate reality, the Hawks went with Doncic and the Mavericks selected Young on the night of the 2018 NBA Draft. It's safe to argue both players would still be All-Stars, at minimum, as their talent levels and production simply can't be overlooked.
It's also worth noting that Young has already led the Hawks to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, thus proving he can star on a winning team.
If the Hawks received from Doncic what the Mavericks did, however, it's fair to question if they would've been open to trading him. At 26, he's already won a scoring title, secured five All-NBA First Team nods, and led Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals and 2022 Western Conference Finals.
It can't be overstated how shocking it was for the Mavericks to give up on Doncic less than 12 months after that Finals appearance, which leads one to question if the Hawks would've done the same.
It must be stated that Young is capable of generational play, scoring and distributing at a truly elite level. Questions persist about his defense and inefficiency, but he's one of the best point guards in the NBA and he has a deep postseason run on his résumé.
The topic at hand is less about Young's quality, however, and more about the decision that was made seven years ago.
If Doncic were in Atlanta right now, it's fair to believe he could've had the current team in the Playoffs. For that matter, the front office likely would've taken a different approach to building around him given the disparities in size and style of play.
The Lakers would've been lucky to add Young depending on the price, but instead, they landed a player who would've been worth any price imaginable. That only happened because of a draft-night trade Los Angeles can thank Dallas for making.