Trae Young The Atlanta Hawk's time has officially come to an end. On Wednesday, four-time All-Star was traded from the only NBA team he's ever known to Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
At first glance, the deal is somewhat strange. Why not Hawks trade a superstar like Young without getting back any young players or draft picks? And why would the Wizards add such an expensive veteran halfway through what has been a lengthy rebuild so far? Well, for reasons we'll explore in our assessments below, the deal actually makes sense for both sides.
Atlanta Hawks: B+
During this season, it became clear that the Hawks were ready to move forward without Young on their roster. This season they are just 2-8 with him on the court, and 16-13 without him. The Hawks, without Young, defend better than they ever have with the small, defensively indifferent Young on the court. They pass more. Jalen Johnson preparing for his first appearance at the All-Star Game, Nickeil Alexander-Walker opened up more ball-handling options, and with a big lottery pick coming from New Orleans, Atlanta saw an opportunity to change up the style and schedule that suited the other players on their team better than the ball-dominant Young.
Let's be clear: this was a cap reset. By making this move, the Hawks will go from a team that should start the offseason over the cap to a team that could have around $30 million in cap space if they wanted to. Atlanta has a few more moves it wants to make, but can't make them given the $49 million player option owed to a point guard they fundamentally no longer need.
So what is the next step? The obvious answer is Anthony Davis trade. They've been tied to the big man from Dallas for a few weeks now, and if the price is right, they could very easily pull the trigger. Moving Young in the first place allows the Hawks to acquire Davis without worrying about the luxury tax or finding adequate depth next season. While he doesn't quite fit the mold of the Hawks' remaining youngsters, he certainly fits the defense and athleticism criteria they've leaned on this season.
However, a deal with Davis is by no means binding. It's possible that the Hawks simply wanted to redistribute Young's money among several players. Let's say they enter next offseason with $30 million or so on the payroll. They could try to use most of that money to sign a replacement guard, e.g. Coby White from Chicago Bullswith the idea that they could get 80-90% of Young's output for half the price. The Hawks still need hitting skills from their defensemen. They just might not be willing to pay top dollar to get it from a flawed player like Young. They will also have a mid-level exception of around $10 million that could be used for depth and potentially a center to replace Kristaps Porzingis.
The sky really is the limit here for Atlanta. The most expensive player on next year's list is Jalen Johnson at $30 million. We exist in NBA some teams have two or three players with salaries in the $40-50 million range. Depth is of great importance for many older and stronger opponents. Atlanta now has a chance to build a deep, versatile roster that will also be financially sustainable in the apron era. We don't know what's next, but we do know that the Hawks are extremely well positioned to build any team they want.
And don't get too hung up on the players they acquired in the deal, regardless of the restrictions. Corey Kispert has had a rough year, partly due to injuries, but think about the last few young veterans to leave Washington. Daniel Gafford got to Dallas and escaped. Deni Avdija made it to Portland and is now set to become an All-Star. The Wizards have been one of the NBA's most dysfunctional teams for years, and while they have somewhat cleaned up their game with a rebuild, they are still largely devoid of veteran talent. Kispert's shooting will be more valuable on a better team than the Wizards. He doesn't have an Avdija-style jumper, but he's making less than average over the next three years, and he fills a role that the Hawks know they need because they paid up. Luke Kennard $11 million to fill it this season.
McCollum is likely a temporary addition, but a welcome one. As we've said before, the Hawks do need some degree of shot creation from their guards, they just didn't want it to come from someone who monopolizes the ball to the extent that Young does. McCollum is the golden mean. He'll come in, create offense, open up space for Atlanta's more athletic forwards, and generally play a pretty unpretentious style. He's a 34-year-old impending free agent, so he's likely not in Atlanta's long-term plans, but he will help the team this year and could potentially remain on a team-friendly contract after that if both sides are happy with their partnership for the rest of the season.
Washington Wizards: B-
The Hawks had good reason to be concerned about paying Young $49 million next season. Wizards don't do this. Their roster is so cheap going forward that even with this trade, they have the potential to earn over $47 million in cap space this offseason. Depending on where they draft, that number could go even higher. Young is currently one of two players on the entire Wizards roster who is under contract for next season but not on a rookie contract. The other player is Justin Champagnie, a former undrafted free agent on a multi-year minimum contract. The $49 million player option means nothing to the Wizards. They can still do almost anything they want.
Since this is a game of pure talent, you simply can't beat this price. At age 27, the Wizards were a four-time All-Star without giving up a single draft pick. Sure, he missed time this season with a sprained MCL, but overall he's been pretty healthy. His contract is short. After this option, he will become a free agent in the 2026/27 season. If the Wizards had extended Young before seeing him play for them, that grade would have been much lower. In their current form, they took virtually no risks. The potential reward is unclear. All of Atlanta's concerns about Young apply to other teams as well. But it's not that the Wizards paid a huge price or made a deal with Young. They're eyeing the former All-Star. If he succeeds, great. If not, they can easily let him go.
In the meantime, the main benefit of adding Young is the creation of an offensive structure. The Wizards have focused on attracting inexperienced athletes through lottery picks. Players like it Alex Sarr And Bilal Coulibaly showed a lot of promise, but they really needed someone who could create light images for them. Young Guard Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington are the leading scorers, and the best playmaker on the team at the moment is probably a sophomore Kishon George.
All of them could theoretically benefit from Young's presence. They will have less ball, but when they get it, they will be able to do more with it. They have to develop in an ecosystem where they have a point guard who can disrupt defenses and create advantages. At the very least, Young is a set of training wheels. He's going to make life easier for these up-and-coming Wizards before they're ready to branch out and attack on their own. If the Wizards decide by the summer of 2027 that these players are ready to run the team on their own, they could again simply let Young walk. At the moment they are still crawling. Before they can run, they need to learn to walk, and Young can help them with that process. Washington currently ranks 27th in offense. The last time they were dead was a season ago. These are not optimal development conditions.
The obvious fear here is that Young will use so many possessions that Washington's incumbent will be watching the ball rather than participating in the play. That's a reasonable concern, and that's why we're not giving this deal any credit. Young can be difficult to play against. But the general manager who selected the young players from Atlanta, Travis Schlenk, is now with the Wizards. They know what they're getting into, and the costs are so minimal that they can pull the plug at any time.
Another problem? Washington owes a protected first-round pick in the top eight New York Knicks. For now, this choice is safe. As of this writing, the Wizards have the fourth-worst record in the NBA, meaning they can't pick a pick lower than eighth. But if you climb even higher in the standings, the selection will be in jeopardy from a mathematical point of view. Get to range #7 or #8 and suddenly the risk of losing a peak becomes mathematically significant. The Wizards currently sit just three wins behind the Wizards. Clippers that's the eighth-worst record in the NBA. If Young comes in and plays well right away, there's some risk there.
But remember, the Wizards didn't make this trade in a vacuum. They know that they are obligated to take back this choice, and according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, they were “obsessed” with the idea of ​​saving it. If they have to engage in some late-season shenanigans to lose games, don't be surprised if they do. Additionally, the Wizards started the season 3-20 and have since gone 5-6. It's also possible that Young's mere interference in the mix throws off that rhythm. Ultimately, the Wizards will have to learn how to play with Young, and if it were easy, the Hawks probably wouldn't trade him.
