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The NBA trade deadline season is in full swing, following the shocking trade of four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards. While Young’s former team, the Atlanta Hawks, ultimately decided on the Wizards’ offer, they searched the market to find the best deal.
A top NBA insider recently revealed that the Hawks turned down an offer for Young from one of the Eastern Conference’s top rising teams.
Hawks Prioritized Cap Flexibility Over Immanuel Quickley in Trae Young Talks
NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed on the Stein Line that the Hawks turned down an offer for Young from the Raptors built around guard Immanuel Quickley. Fischer said, “Sources say that Toronto actually offered a package built around Quickley and draft capital for Young before last February’s trade deadline and maintained a level of interest in Young this season. Yer sources say that the Hawks had no interest in a Quickley-headlined package given the future money he’s owed.”
Fischer added, “The Hawks staunchly prioritized the anole flexibility they now have before the Feb. 5 trade buzzer and possibly into free agency next summer by taking back CJ McCollum’s expiring $30.7 million salary as the key return in their Young deal.”
The Raptors are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 23-16 record. Fischer, noting how aggressively the Raptors pursued Young, is a sign that they believe their window of contention is now open. The team is led by one-time All-Stars Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, along with an intriguing collection of other young players.
The Raptors clearly felt Young could be the missing piece to put them at the top of the East, though he’s an extremely questionable fit defensively. With the Raptors ranking in the NBA’s top ten in defensive rating and scoring defense, it’s interesting they would consider Young the missing piece, even if he’s an overall upgrade over Quickley.
.@KennethNugent is donating $3 to the Hawks Foundation for #ScoreForScholarships with every point we score this season!
Here’s the total after last night ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/TzSfFNEJnE
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 10, 2026
The Hawks’ perspective is also clear. Quickley is averaging 16.4 points and 6.2 assists per game this season, while shooting 42.9% from the field and 35.6% from three. He’s a better defender than Young and can play off the basketball at times.
However, as Fischer points out, Quickley is locked into a long-term deal, as he’s in the second year of a five-year $162,500,000 contract. In the NBA’s new salary cap world, that’s a lot of money to pay a guard who may never make an All-Star team. The Hawks are now building around soon-to-be first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson, with Dyson Daniels and others providing secondary playmaking.
While Quickley is a nice player, there’s a strong argument that he isn’t the type of player the Hawks need to take a step forward. By preserving cap space, the Hawks can potentially fill a more urgent need in the interior to pair with 2020 first-round pick Onyeka Okongwu, who is averaging a career high 16.2 points per game this season, while expanding his shooting to the perimeter.
The Hawks are a team to watch as they explore their next big move.
