Photo: Peter Baba

Trae Young says his departure from Atlanta was something he had already come to believe was necessary, but he was determined to avoid an ugly separation from the franchise.

Young’s perspective was influenced by growing up in Oklahoma City and watching how fans responded when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook eventually left the Thunder.

Those experiences shaped how he wanted to handle the end of his own chapter with the Hawks.

“I knew it was time, and for me, I wanted to leave the right way. I never wanted to make it a big deal. I grew up in OKC, where I seen KD get killed for leaving and going a certain way, and I didn’t want that type of feeling. I also saw how they treated Russ whenever he ended up leaving OKC.”

Rather than damaging his relationship with Atlanta on the way out, Young wanted to preserve the connections he had developed during his years with the organization.

He also refused to completely rule out the possibility that their paths could cross again.

“You never know how the NBA works. You never know if a rekindling is in the future for me down there. I love the owner, Tony, and all the ownership group and everybody down there. I have much love to a lot of people in Atlanta. So I never wanted to leave in a bad way.”

However, Young suggested that his level of comfort within the organization began to change as Atlanta repeatedly reshaped its front office.

He specifically pointed to the arrival of Onsi Saleh as the Hawks’ general manager as a moment when things started to feel different.

“But once we got in that third GM and brought in Onsi, you don’t necessarily feel as comfortable as you did before he got there. It wasn’t no big deal to me neither… There are so many things I won’t say until later on. Sometimes it’s better just to let things go.”