The rumor mill never stops in the CSL, as trade season is 24/7, 365 days a year (366 on a leap year) in these parts. Even during trade restriction periods, teams talk and agree to deals that get finalized weeks later. It's a constant state of wheeling and dealing for a majority of the league's teams, and the reality of a CSL player is a dark one at times. Your bags always have to be packed and ready to go at a moment's notice, especially if you're a player held in high regard.
That has been the reality ofthe center of the Charlotte Hornets franchise, Trae Young. After a somewhat disappointing Play-In appearance that led to a first round beatdown at the hands of the Miami Heat, those inside the Hornets organization knew nobody was safe. From management down to the coaching staff and especially the players, it was clear that nobody should put a downpayment on a long-term lease this summer.
Young is different than the rest of the organization. A proven CSL All-Star caliber player in the heart of his prime - players like that just don't grow on trees. One of the league's best high volume three point shooters, a talented creator and a solid defender, Young is the kind of player you see leading the charge for a team that matters in the CSL. This isn't a replacement level rotation player who gets traded around the league 8 times, this is a prized asset and one you want your team to trade for, not trade away.
But here we are, a mediocre team who made an all-in move that didn't yield results last season. The acquisition of CSL champion and perennial All-Star Stanley Johnson Jr. didn't lead to wins like the team planned. A midseason trade of Hornet staple Kris Dunn for a package of quality rotation players didn't do the trick either. The Hornets now find themselves stuck in the worst position there is - the purgatory that is CSL mediocrity.
Not every team can be the Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics. We know that. But this position? Fighting for an 8th seed with little room for growth around your franchise cornerstone? That's not the position you want to be in (especially not in this fake basketball league with zero real-world ramifications for any moves we make). That's the position that makes you do something radical, and something you may one day regret.
That's how a player in the heart of his prime, who is an All-Star caliber talent and who has been the face of the franchise for 7 seasons now finds himself on the trade block, with rumors swirling.
Ultimately, the trade block is just an advertisement. It's an invitation for discussions and in some cases, an excuse to make yourself the center of attention. Players get posted on the block all the time that won't actually get moved - how real a player's availability is sometimes unknown league-wide. Some GMs just like knowing that their player is popular. Others like to wheel and deal and have fun trading, and care much less about building a winner. Hornets GM Dylan, though, wants to prove to himself that he can do it - that he can build a sustainable winner.
Whether Trae Young finds himself suiting up elsewhere on Opening Night very much remains to be seen. The Hornets understand that he can be a part of the solution - may even the most important part of the solution. However, when you field offers and have discussions with 16 of the league's 29 other teams, you start to imagine all the different ways this situation can be attacked, and what the best (and most fun!) way to build a sustainable winner might be.
It won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight, but the desire to crawl out of the depths of hell - the purgatory that is mediocrity - is how a player like Trae Young finds himself ready to be sent to a new home.
