“From the first day I was here, and I mean before the draft when I came in for a workout, they have preached development,” said Trae Young, when recalling his early days in the NBA. The player learned, right from the start of his NBA journey, the importance of workouts and developing your body. This is why the player seldom chooses to take a break, even during the off-season. From working out with Stephen Curry and the latter’s longtime trainer, Brandon Payne, to flexing his biceps on his Instagram story last month, the Atlanta Hawks star keeps sharing updates with his fans, too. Now, he might indirectly go on to motivate several of his followers with his recent post.

Trae Young recently took to his official Instagram account to share a series of pictures with his 5 million followers. The same featured the highlights from his recent workout session. Dressed up in Jordan gear, right from his T-shirt to the newly released Air Jordan 40, the NBA star showed himself practicing moves with the ball, lifting weights, taking help from his trainer for the other workouts, and just putting in the work to make his body better. He added a caption alongside the post that read “True to this, not new to this”. We know, Trae. We know.

Trae Young shared this post amid concerns that his tenure with the Atlanta Hawks might be coming to an end. According to reports, the player has been growing increasingly frustrated that he hasn’t received a contract extension yet. This may have led to his cryptic post on X back in June, in which all the player did was share an ‘hourglass emoji’.

It would also give an added explanation for why he recently shared a message of support for Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, who himself is currently locked in a contract standoff with team owner Jerry Jones. Reposting one of Parsons’ tweets, Young wrote on X that “This why you pay the man early, when someone will take less early to stay in a place he wanted to be forever, you do it… the price only goes up now! Get what you deserve bro!”. There really couldn’t be more subtle hints dropping out there.

Young’s current contract runs only through the 2025-26 season, with a player option for 2026-27. He is reportedly eligible to sign a 4-year, $229 million extension now. From the looks of it, the Hawks do not want to lose the 26-year-old point guard as the face of the league. The question, however, may be whether the team wants to pay a full 30% of the salary cap through the end of the decade for him. The team already has a cap allocation of $193.26 million for the 2025-26 season, and would not wish to incur any more fines by crossing the Luxury Tax and Apron limits by a wider margin.

Given this current situation, one wouldn’t blame Trae Young for being frustrated and even thinking of switching to another team that provides him with the value he feels he deserves. However, his well-wishers want him not to give up so easily.

Eddie Johnson Asks Trae Young to Be Patient Amidst Contract Extension Issues: “look at the big picture”

Earlier this week, former NBA star and former Sixth Man of the Year Eddie Johnson was interviewed on Sirius XM’s NBA Radio. During the same, he discussed Trae Young’s current contract extension predicament. Though it has been 26 years since Johnson last played in the NBA, he has been keeping tabs on the league thanks to his work as the co-host of NBA Today. Having done his research on Young’s previous contract, Johnson held the belief that just because the Hawks player got one of his contract deals early does not mean the same should continue to be the case.

“They’ve already given in to him quickly on the last contract. They didn’t fight him on that one. They gave it to you. And it paid 37, 40, and 43 million” said the 66-year-old. “I don’t understand. Just be patient, man. Just look at the big picture here.”

It’s hard to appreciate the big picture when you have players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signing $285 million extension. However, as Johnson added, “The big picture is one, they’re not going to cater to you like they used to because they did it in the past, and word out of Atlanta wasn’t too good in regards to you, and sometimes how your teammates might have viewed you and how you acted. I think they’re trying to send you a message”.

Johnson gave out this advice based on his past experience in dealing with NBA teams. However, in the end, it all comes down to Young’s mindset. How he chooses to act in the coming days is something that remains to be seen.