Celtics Odds: Boston Listed Among Trae Young’s Predicted Destinations

Could the Boston Celtics soon be in the market to add another young star? Well, while the Atlanta Hawks have Trae Young under contract, that isn’t stopping oddsmakers from making their premature predictions.

After Young made his debut All-Star campaign in 2020, the Hawks opened up their checkbook and rewarded him. Both sides agreed on a five-year, $207 million extension. This keeps the long-range shooting guard under contract until 2027 when Young becomes an unrestricted free agent.

And while the Hawks have been struggling all season long, Young has maintained his All-Star caliber form. Atlanta sits ninth in the Eastern Conference (17-18) through 35 games — eighth behind the NBA-best Celtics (25-10). And reports — which Young deemed as “false” — suggest the 24-year-old and head coach Nate McMillan haven’t gotten along this season.

With that being said, here’s a look at where the Celtics’ odds stack up against others across the league, according to BetOnline:

Dallas Mavericks: +250
Miami Heat: +350
Boston Celtics: +400
Denver Nuggets: +700
Los Angeles Lakers: +700

So far, the Celtics have seen Young for one of their three scheduled matchups this season. In their first, on Nov. 16, Boston made easy work of Atlanta despite an off night from Jayson Tatum, scoring only 19 points. Young, on the other hand, led the game with 27 points and nine assists in the 126-101 loss.

Afterward, Young gave props to the Celtics who knocked down 45.7% of their outside shots. In comparison, Atlanta only connected on 21.9% of its 32 attempts.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” Young said, per CLNS Media video. “They were knocking down a lot of 3’s but that’s what they do.”

Since being drafted at No. 5 in 2018, Young and the Hawks have come up short time after time. Atlanta didn’t even make the playoffs in the guard’s first three seasons. Atlanta fell short of an NBA Finals appearance with a loss against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. They suffered first-round elimination versus the Miami Heat last season.

Nevertheless, Young is on track for another on-brand run. He’s averaged 27.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and a career-best 9.9 assists in 31 games. Young also has played a career-high 31.5 minutes and has attempted 20.9 field goal attempts per contest.

Two questions present themselves in wake of all this: Does Young fit with the Celtics? And if so, do the Celtics have the proper trade chips to even acquire him?