A recent report indicates that the Los Angeles Lakers have been monitoring Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young for some time.

Jovan Buha wrote, “Trae Young has long been on Los Angeles’ radar, depending on how his situation develops in Atlanta.”

Young, 24 years old, has played five seasons in the NBA, all with the Hawks. He averaged 26.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 10.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 73 regular season appearances (all starts) in 2022-23.

The 6-foot-1 floor general lead the Hawks to a 41-41 record during the 2022-23 regular season, tied for eighth-best in the Eastern Conference with the Toronto Raptors. Unsurprisingly, the Hawks performed much better at home than on the road during the regular season, as their home record was 24-17 while their road record was 17-24.

Young and the Hawks secured the No. 7 seed in the conference and a first-round matchup against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics by defeating Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in their first play-in tournament game. Butler and the Heat went on to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2023 NBA Finals.

In a seven-game series, the Hawks were unable to defeat the Celtics despite their superior potential. In the first round, Boston eliminated the Hawks in six games, but Young had an outstanding series.

In the series, the point guard averaged 29.2 points, 10.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game. Game 5 was arguably Young’s finest performance of the Celtics series. He scored a series-high 38 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, and dished out 13 assists as the Hawks avoided elimination with a 119-117 victory in Boston.

If Young ever requests a trade from Atlanta, the Lakers would be prudent to contact the Hawks about acquiring his services. Young is a vast improvement over both D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent and is one of the NBA’s finest point guards. Here’s hoping that Young will don a Lakers jersey before the end of his professional tenure.