After Trae Young was traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, I think everyone was a bit surprised by just how low his value was. Undoubtedly, this should serve as a cautionary tale for other NBA teams.
There are many talented stars whose value could decline in a similar manner. Young's deficiencies as a defender and his extreme ball-dominance are clear. His need for a new contract made this more difficult.
Here are four teams with talented yet flawed stars who should learn from the Atlanta Hawks' mistake and at least consider trading their star now.
LaMelo Ball
The similarities between LaMelo Ball and Young are clear. Both players are superemley talented scorers and playmakers. Yet there are questions about their defense, heliocentric style of play, and ability to contribute to winning. There are rumbles of Ball being available, and I would act swiftly if I were the Charlotte Hornets.
I'm not super concerned with Ball's declining production, since that has more to do with Kon Knueppel's emergence. However, Ball's lengthy injury history and lackluster shot selection would concern me. There's plenty of risk in holding on to him, especially if he's not fully happy in Charlotte. I would focus on drafting a guard in a loaded 2026 draft class and maximizing Ball's value.
At this stage, it won't be a king's ransom, but given his size, age, and longer contract, Ball will have some value. Ultimately, it's more likely that holding on to Ball will hurt than help the Hornets.
Ja Morant
Ja Morant is another player who is similar to Young, and frankly, the ship may have sailed for the Memphis Grizzlies. By all accounts, Morant is having the worst season of his career since his rookie year. The dynamic guard is averaging 19 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7.6 assists on 40.1/20.8/90 shooting splits.
Between size, injuries, shooting, defense, declining finishing (career-low 4.2 rim attempts this season), and maturity, the concerns are significant with Morant. There's a real possibility that Morant's value is already in the Young range and perhaps even lower. Still, if Morant puts together a good stretch before the deadline (or at some point) next year and the Grizzlies get a good offer, that's something they must pounce on.
Morant's contract is up in 2028. As we move closer to that year, it's easy to see a scenario where his market becomes truly nonexistent.
Zion Williamson
Another player who might already be fully in Trae territory is Zion Williamson. Unlike Morant or Ball, though, Zion's shaky trade value is nearly exclusively connected to staying healthy. The New Orleans Pelicans forward has only played more than 60 games once, and doesn't have the ideal body type for a long career.
Nevertheless, when Zion is on the court, he's dominant, and his upside is still tantalizing. As such, it's not crazy to imagine a team talking themselves into being able to rehabilitate Williamson. The idea of a powerful 6-foot-6 forward is simply hard for teams to fully give up on. For the Pelicans, though, it's time to focus on building around rookies Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears.
The Pelicans have had Zion for seven years, and it hasn't worked out. The chances of this changing in a real way are minimal. Big Z has been healthy for the last month, which could boost his trade value ahead of the deadline.
Again, the Pelicans won't get a crazy return for Zion, but there's a better chance of a solid return if they move off of him sooner rather than later, especially given his contract is up in 2028.
Paolo Banchero
Paolo Banchero is a tricky evaluation, and frankly, I'm high on him as a player. Likewise, of this group, he has the most value, and I wouldn't trade him until at least the offseason, especially since his contract has a poison pill restriction until the summer. Nevertheless, it's easy to see a scenario where his value declines and the Orlando Magic hold on to him for too long -- much like the Hawks did with Young.
Banchero is a difficult shot maker, but his shot selection is questionable at best. The 6-foot-9 forward is having his least productive season since his rookie year, averaging 21.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on 45.9/25.6/74.7 shooting splits. He ranks 377th in effective field goal percentage (49), and among players who shoot more than 3 pull-ups per game, Banchero ranks second to last in effective field goal percentage (30.1). The Magic are also 6.6 points better with Banchero off the court.
The Duke product has been fantastic in the two playoff series he's played in, averaging 28 points. Regardless, Banchero's poor efficiency and the fact that he is having a down season could limit his value. Again, I don't think now is the time to trade him, but it could be sooner rather than later.