The Miami Heat are still lacking a definitive roster centerpiece after they fell short in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes earlier this summer, but they could try to change that in the 2026 offseason.

Atlanta Hawks star floor general Trae Young is one player who could potentially hit unrestricted free agency in 2026. After he gets paid nearly $46 million this season, he has a player option attached to his contract for the 2026-27 season that he could decline.

However, according to Heat insider Ethan J. Skolnick, Miami has never been all that high on Young internally, making it seem unlikely that the team would trade for the guard or sign him as a free agent.

“Plus, the internal Miami Heat word about Young has never been glowing,” Skolnick wrote. “The Hawks may choose to move on from Young as they are reloading their roster with young talent, and have a better two-way lead guy in Jalen Johnson returning from injury. But it’s hard to see the Heat being the team that takes Young from them, either via trade or if he becomes free in 2026.”

There’s no denying that Young brings a lot to the table. He’s an incredibly gifted scorer and playmaker, as he’s averaged 25.3 points and 9.8 assists per game for his pro career. He is also on the heels of leading the league in assists, as he dished out a whopping 11.6 per contest in the 2024-25 season.

Plus, even though Atlanta has experienced limited playoff success in recent years, Young has led the Hawks deep into the playoffs before. Atlanta made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2021 NBA Playoffs before losing to the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in six games in that series.

But there are still reasons to be concerned about how Young would fit on the Heat even with the offensive maestro that he is. Namely, he’s never been known for his defense, and Miami has long taken pride on that end of the floor as a franchise.

The best course of action for Miami regarding Young might be to only consider acquiring him if he is on the open market as a free agent next summer. It would be easier to justify adding him to the fold if the Heat can do so without gutting their roster in a trade for him, but if the team would have to part with a lot of valuable assets, that’s another story entirely.

Hopefully, Young won’t sign a long-term extension to remain with the Hawks franchise in the near future.