Trae Young Trade: What are the Wizards Doing?
After a little more than seven seasons, the Trae Young era for the Atlanta Hawks is officially over. The guard has been hurt this year, and it taught the Hawks what they could be without him. They and Young decided to part ways, with the team working with his representatives to find him a new home.
His trade value was an interesting point for the NBA, as he's a four-time All-Star who averages over 25 points and almost 10 assists. But he's also making $49 million and plays no defense. He just isn't as valuable anymore, which made him hard to move.
The Washington Wizards emerged as a suitor, and Young said that's where he wanted to go. On Wednesday night, while Young sat out again, he was officially sent to the nation's capital for a couple of players.
Trae Young lands with Wizards
The full trade is rather simple after all the commotion about what Trae Young could get versus what the Hawks might have to attach with his contract. It's a simple swap: Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum for Trae Young.
ESPN insider Kevin Pelton said, "The Wizards have been one of the NBA's most patient teams, accumulating young talent without a clear path toward competing for a playoff spot. Trading for Young is a course correction that signals Washington is heading into a new phase of its rebuild."
Young gives the Wizards a highly talented player to go along with that young talent, but it still seems like an awkward time to make such a deal. The Wizards are 10-26. They're not really even in contention for the Play-In Tournament in the East.
Young might get them there, but at what cost? He'll be around for 2025-26 and 2026-27 because he has a $49 million player option that he's absolutely going to opt into. So the Wizards become a moderately improved team for two years and then what?
Young's not likely to stick around since he can sign for less with a much better team. Even if the Wizards do start getting better, how much better will they be by then? With all due respect, they have some young talent, but they don't have anyone eye-popping enough to think they can legitimately contend by 2027.
Plus, Young is worse financially than McCollum. The Wizards had McCollum on a $30.6 million expiring contract. Now, they essentially have two years and almost $100 million of Trae Young. He's better, but is he good enough to justify that?
That doesn't seem likely, which is why the Wizards probably should've had the Hawks attach some future second-round picks to the deal. Corey Kispert and McCollum aren't much to the Wizards now, but if all they get is a year and a half of Trae Young for $98 million, it just doesn't seem worth it.
The future
Not to mention, this will hurt the draft for the Wizards. They need to continue adding young talent, and now, Young will raise their floor enough that they'll be picking in the top 10-15 instead of the top five. That's significant for a rebuilding team.
Maybe it works out that Young can help these young players. The Wizards could contend in the East, at least for the Play-In game. Then, they could re-sign Young at the end of his deal for a much more team-friendly value. As long as he retains his skill, he'd then be the proven, veteran leader for an interesting group of young talents.
That feels like a long shot, though, which makes this trade all the stranger. The Hawks made out nicely, though, because they got an expiring contract and didn't have to part with any picks.
