Report: Hawks front office given green light to do whatever it takes — including trading Trae Young

Two seasons ago the Atlanta Hawks made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals, which set the bar high within the organization. They followed it up with a letdown of a season where the Hawks finished ninth, fought their way through the play-in only to get crushed by the Miami Heat in the first round. That sparked the bold move of bringing in Dejounte Murray to pair with Trae Young in the backcourt, but the end result of that has been the Hawks back in the play-in as the No.8 seed (and facing the Heat again). Along the way this season, the Hawks shook up the front office and moved out GM Travis Schlenk and then fired coach Nate McMillan. Nothing has quite worked.

Hawks ownership trusts the new front office led by GM Landry Fields and new coach Quin Snyder, and has given the green light for more shakeups, including the biggest one possible — trading Trae Young. From Kevin O’Conner at The Ringer.

With the offseason approaching, league sources say 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.

In March, Hawks owner Tony Ressler told The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz he’s neither opening nor closing the door on any players being moved. Months earlier, Shams Charania and Sam Amick reported on escalating tensions between Young and former head coach Nate McMillan, leading to team meetings and questions about Young’s leadership. Players reportedly sided with the coach over their star player. Things got so ugly that TNT’s Chris Haynes reported that Young could request a trade this summer if the Hawks fail to make “inroads’’ in the playoffs

His teammates not backing Young up is not a