With just one month remaining before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 5, trade season is officially underway. The Atlanta Hawks made the league’s first major move of the year, trading star guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in exchange for guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert.
ESPN’s NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news on Wednesday night halfway through the Hawks-Pelicans game. The decision to part ways with the four-time All-Star comes midway through Young’s eighth season in Atlanta. The move signals a shift in direction for the Hawks as they pivot toward a younger core featuring Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and Zaccharie Risacher.
Senior NBA Insider on NBA on Prime Chris Haynes shared closing remarks from McCollum regarding his trade to Atlanta on X.
“Loved my time in D.C. Organization was great to my family and I,” said McCollum. “Love the city and they’re doing things the right way over there. [Excited] to get to The A and get to work. Very familiar with their style of play. Love the ownership group and front office. Good group of players.”
For Washington, this deal provides the remainder of this season and much of the 2026-27 campaign to assess how Young connects with a promising emerging young core that includes Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington.
The Wizards are betting that Young’s offensive gravity will unlock efficiency and dynamic playmaking that will arise within their young core.
Since hiring Michael Winger and Will Dawkins in 2023, the Wizards have taken a patient approach to the rebuilding of the franchise, acquiring young talent and avoiding shortcuts for immediate playoff contention.
“Michael Winger and Will [Dawkins] did everything they said they would,” McCollum noted, “and kept their word from the very beginning.”
Trading for Young represents a clear pivot, signaling that Washington is ready to move into the next phase of the franchise’s rebuild. Recent results may have put this trade into action. Although the Wizards have gone 9-10, including five wins in their last seven games, they started the season with a 1-15 record.
With their first-round draft pick heading to the Knicks if it falls outside of the top eight, simply tanking was no longer a secure option. Supporting the development of young starters Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr with an elite offensive engine became more appealing.
Young does bring that – even if the fit isn’t seamless. He led the NBA with 11.6 assists last season and ranks 12th this year in points per chance as a pick-and-roll ball-handler.
Washington, meanwhile, is 25th in pick-and-roll efficiency. Young’s ball dominance could possibly push others off the ball, particularly Bub Carrington. But it could ultimately unlock cleaner looks for the Wizards’ young core moving forward.
Financially, the move for Young was a low-risk decision. Washington has ample cap space and three months to evaluate whether he can anchor the team’s climb towards success and better the nucleus of the young core.
Further, head coach Brian Keefe said the team needs to “keep building” and being “consistent.”
“Keep making this something that we can do for longer and for better,” Keefe explained. “That’s the goal for us, those are the important things.”