The Atlanta Hawks could be preparing to get a sneak peek of their future without Trae Young after his most recent injury.
As one of the more disappointing teams in the Eastern Conference this season, there's a chance things get a bit more difficult before they get better. With whispers growing that the Atlanta Hawks could end up trading Trae Young during the offseason, something they'll have to figure out soon enough, they could end the season with a sneak peek of what the future could look like without their superstar point guard.
That's because Young is expected to miss at least a month after undergoing surgery to repair a ligament tear in a finger of his left hand. At this point, you'd have to imagine that there's a good chance Young ends up missing the remainder of the season. If that does end up being the case, I'd be shocked if the Hawks didn't use this opportunity to get a closer look at rookie Kobe Bufkin.
Bufkin hasn't played much this season. In fact, he's only appeared in five games and has only totaled 25 minutes of real NBA action. If there's even a small chance that Young is traded during the offseason, the Hawks almost have to be sold on Bufkin and the next month of the season could go a long way in Atlanta finding that out.
Will the Atlanta Hawks fall out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference?
Moving forward, assuming Young is going to miss at least a month, you can't help but wonder what this could mean for the team's playoff hopes. The Hawks are 2-3 in the only five games that Young has missed this season, but considering that he leads the team in scoring and assists, you'd have to imagine that his absence is going to impact the team. Especially considering this is the push toward the postseason.
With less than 30 games left in the regular season across the league, the Hawks are 24-32 and ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. Even if Young misses the remainder of the season, there's still a chance they can hold onto the 10th seed in the East, considering they're three games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and four ahead of the Toronto Raptors.
However, you can't love this team's chances either way. Even less so if Young ends up missing the remainder of the season. But, hey, at least the Hawks will get a look at what life could look like without Young, which is likely something they'll have to decide during the offseason.