WASHINGTON, January 3, 2024 — The Atlanta Hawks are sending franchise cornerstone Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster trade for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, sources confirmed Wednesday, signaling a dramatic shift for both franchises.
A New Chapter for Both Teams
The deal sends a star guard to a rebuilding Wizards team and provides the Hawks with veteran leadership and financial flexibility.
- Trae Young, a four-time All-Star, heads to Washington, fulfilling his reported desire to play for the Wizards.
- The Hawks acquire CJ McCollum, a proven scorer, and Corey Kispert, a sharpshooter, to usher in a new era.
- The trade reunites Young with Wizards executive Travis Schlenk, who originally drafted him in 2018.
- Atlanta gains financial flexibility, potentially to pursue a star like Dallas’ Anthony Davis.
- Washington aims to build around Young, clearing cap space and adding assets for the future.
The move ends Young’s seven-plus-season tenure as the face of the Hawks, sending the 27-year-old to what was reportedly his preferred destination. Washington officials Michael Winger and Will Dawkins have been actively seeking a foundational player for their developing young core, and view Young as that piece. The Wizards believe this trade is a crucial step in their ongoing rebuild.
Hawks Eye Future Flexibility
The Hawks now turn their attention to a new era, leaning on the emergence of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, and Zaccharie Risacher. This shift aims to create a more fluid style of play around their wings and bolster overall depth. McCollum provides immediate veteran leadership, while his $30.6 million expiring contract offers Atlanta financial maneuverability.
What impact will Trae Young have on the Wizards’ rebuild? The acquisition of Young provides Washington with a dynamic offensive force and a potential cornerstone for years to come, though his health will be a key factor.
Young has $95 million remaining on his contract through the 2026-27 season, with a player option for the following year.
Moving Young also opens up financial possibilities for Atlanta, potentially allowing them to pursue a significant player acquisition in the coming months—with Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis mentioned as a potential target—and capitalize on a valuable first-round draft pick in June, which will be the more favorable selection between those held by New Orleans and Milwaukee.
As of Wednesday’s 116-109 home win against the New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta sits ninth in the Eastern Conference at 18-21, but had struggled with Young in the lineup, going 2-8 in those games.
Young’s agents, Aaron Mintz, Drew Morrison, and Austin Brown, collaborated with Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh on the trade over the past week. Discussions about Young’s future had been ongoing for several months, following the franchise’s decision not to offer him a contract extension.
“I know you all have questions for me that right now I’m not at liberty to talk about or answer,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said after Wednesday’s victory, acknowledging the trade hadn’t yet been officially approved by the NBA.
The Wizards, currently 10-26 and 14th in the East, had won five of their previous seven games before Wednesday’s 106-103 road loss in Philadelphia. McCollum and Kispert were held out of that contest. Washington hasn’t reached the playoffs since the 2020-21 season.
The Wizards’ 2026 first-round draft pick is protected through the eighth selection, stemming from a prior trade with the New York Knicks. If Washington retains its pick, they will send New York their 2026 and 2027 second-round picks.
Hawks power forward Mouhamed Gueye expressed his admiration for Young, stating, “That’s T.Y. That’s Trae Young. When I first got here, he was one of the first guys that texted me, welcoming me to the city, gave me a lot of advice. Obviously, playing with Trae, as a big, is like a dream come true. I love him as a guy. I love him as a teammate… An Atlanta legend.”
Young holds the Hawks’ all-time records for 3-pointers (1,295) and assists (4,837). He led the team to three postseason appearances, including a run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. Okongwu is now the only remaining player from that 2021 squad on the Hawks’ roster.
This season, Young averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 28 minutes per game, shooting 41.5% from the field and 30.5% from three-point range. McCollum, meanwhile, led the Wizards with 18.8 points, along with 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds, shooting 45.4% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc.
Kispert, adding to the Hawks’ wing depth, has averaged 9.2 points and is shooting 39.5% from three in 19 games this season.
Young, an All-NBA selection in 2021-22, boasts career averages of 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game. He led the league in assists last season with 11.6 per game. He has averaged 25 points and 10 assists in two seasons, tying Russell Westbrook for the second-most such seasons in NBA history (Oscar Robertson leads with five). Young has scored or assisted on 48.1 points per game in his career, second only to Luka Doncic (48.9).
Young is the second player since the 1976-77 merger to average 25 points per game for a single team in his first 400 career games and be traded before reaching game No. 500. The first was Luka Doncic, the player the Hawks traded Young for on draft night in 2018.
The Wizards had been among the league’s least productive offenses, receiving the sixth-fewest points per game (50.0) and fourth-fewest assists per game (11.9) from their guards this season. Conversely, the Hawks’ offense with Young on the floor consistently ranked within the top 15 since his second season in 2019-20, even reaching the No. 1 spot in both 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Young was sidelined due to a right quad contusion, having missed the past six games. He was present on the bench during Wednesday’s game, briefly leaving and returning before departing for good with about 30 seconds remaining, exchanging handshakes with fans.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
