What happens when your star point guard starts thinking like a front office executive? In Atlanta, you get fireworks. Because while GMs around the league were crunching numbers and analyzing cap sheets, Trae Young was already on the phone. And it wasn’t just small talk. It was persuasion, vision, and maybe a bit of swagger. Because, within hours, it turned into a combined $73 million worth of roster upgrades.

According to Shams Charania, Young directly reached out to Luke Kennard and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to help recruit them to the Hawks. One accepted a one-year, $11 million deal. The other, a four-year, $62 million sign-and-trade acquisition from the Timberwolves. You could call it front office finesse. But let’s call it what it is: a power move. And it’s one that could reshape Atlanta’s ceiling in the East.

Kennard brings deadeye shooting, ranking among the league’s most efficient from deep. Alexander-Walker adds length, defense, and versatility on the wing. These aren’t filler names. They’re plug-and-play weapons, especially for a team that is scrambling to stay relevant in a top-heavy Eastern Conference. The message from Atlanta is clear at this point seems clear that with Trae leading the call sheet and the scoring sheet, they’re not here to rebuild. They’re here to reload. The price, though?

Atlanta sends a 2027 second-round pick (via Cleveland) and cash to Minnesota for Alexander-Walker in the sign-and-trade, per Charania. It’s a move that signals urgency but also strategy. While critics have called Atlanta’s roster construction inconsistent in recent years, this new pairing shows intent. These are players that fit around Trae. Floor spacers, movers, high-IQ operators who don’t need the ball but know what to do when they have it. And how is Trae feeling about all this?

According to Marc Spears, “Trae is keeping an eye on things. I talked to people close to him, they say Trae is ecstatic. Trae is excited about this team… and now the Hawks, they’re a contender in the East.” It might sound bold, but in a conference where chaos is currency, confidence is half the battle. And this also isn’t the first time Trae’s voice has shaped the Hawks’ direction.

He’s been vocal about personnel, coaching, and culture since the early days of his career. And while that hasn’t always been clean, it’s clear that his influence inside the franchise walls is growing… maybe finally in the right ways. From his second year on, he was already in on those team-building talks, pushing the front office to speed things up.

Why Trae’s fingerprints are all over this

He advocated for the 2020 trade that landed Clint Capela, a defensive anchor that helped spark the Hawks’ Eastern Conference Finals run in 2021. And then, when Nate McMillan was fired, league insiders indicated that Trae had already expressed support for Quin Snyder, whose hiring was fast-tracked shortly after.

His relationship with previous team players like Bogdanović has been strong since day one. Young even attended his overseas games during the summer. With new teammates like Kennard and Alexander-Walker, the dynamics could again be instant. Kennard’s deadeye shooting mirrors what Kevin Huerter once brought, and it’s no coincidence Trae seemed to appreciate that floor dynamic. Meanwhile, NAW’s recent playoff contributions with the Timberwolves show his readiness to compete in high-leverage moments, something Atlanta sorely missed last season. And Trae making the call himself?

That resonates. In a league where stars often wait for things to be handed to them, Young is reaching for the phone. And well, that says a lot about where he’s at in his career… not just as a scorer, but a stabilizer. Not just a talent, but a tone-setter. As for the front office, they’re clearly giving Young more say and more support. The Hawks missed the playoffs consecutively for the second time this season and are in a clear reset.

But instead of blowing it all up, they’re reloading around a star who’s still only 26. If this plan works, Young’s role as a recruiter may end up just as important as his floater or logo-range three. Because right now? He’s not just shaping the offense. He’s shaping the future. His own. The Hawks. And maybe even the players he’s keen on recruiting.