Has Trae Young’s time with the Hawks come to an end?

Before their game against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, the Hawks received some terrible news: Trae Young had damaged his radial collateral ligament, according to an MRI. In four weeks, he will be reevaluated, which may perhaps mean the end of his season.

The Hawks, who are 3.5 games ahead of the Nets for the final play-in place and 10th in the Eastern Conference, are still very much in the running for a postseason berth.

For an Atlanta club that has been the epitome of mediocrity since their journey to the Eastern Conference Finals a couple years back, it’s a familiar place. With a healthy Trae Young, they might have advanced out of the play-in round for the third consecutive season, but this club isn’t going to defeat one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks now have to look in the mirror and consider their options going forward, which may not involve Trae Young.

A Pandora’s box was opened when the Hawks chose not to deal Dejounte Murray, who had been the subject of trade rumors for months, at the trade deadline. Since then, numerous reports have surfaced indicating that they would think about dealing Trae Young this summer

The validity of these rumors is up for debate. Will the Hawks finally start taking calls regarding Trae Young’s availability this offseason seriously? I don’t doubt that. This is a team that has shown zero progress over the last three seasons. They’ve actually regressed despite taking a big swing in a blockbuster trade that landed them Dejounte Murray.

The Young and Murray fit has been wonky from the start. They are both ball-dominant players that need the rock in their hands to be at their best. The hope was that Quin Snyder’s offensive mind could squeeze the most out of their talent together. It hasn’t worked.

The Hawks are 25-32 following their win last night over the Magic, a game in which Dejounte Murray looked spectacular without Trae Young, totaling 25 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds.

Murray’s performance down the stretch run of the season as the lead man is going to be the #1 talking point surrounding the Hawks. Some believe Atlanta may desire to build around Murray over Trae Young; others think the Hawks are better without Young altogether.

I’m not one of those people.

Trae Young is a top 20 player in the league and is still ascending. He’s fresh off his third All-Star appearance, has led a team to just a couple of wins away from an NBA Finals appearance, and made an All-NBA team. Anyone still doubting his ability is either a bonafide hater or a fan of another team hoping to land him in a trade this offseason for peanuts.