Trae Young wanted to be in the nation's capital, and now that's exactly where he's heading. On Wednesday night, the Atlanta Hawks traded their four-time All-Star guard to the Washington Wizards, as first reported by ESPN insider Shams Charania. More shockingly, though, the Wizards are sending just C.J. McCollum (and his expiring contract) and Corey Kispert to Atlanta to get the deal done. Most notably, there are no draft picks involved in the trade.
The Hawks and Young long ago had been at an impasse about his future, before recently allowing Young and his representation to seek a trade. The Wizards emerged as the frontrunners and Young's ideal landing spot. Now, the deal is done, which sets two franchises off in wildly different directions, but both with their own merits.
Trae Young trade grades: How did the Wizards and Hawks make out?
Washington Wizards Grade: B
There's good reason to question whether or not Trae Young can ever be what he was when he first came into the NBA. Injuries and a stark defensive decline have gone hand-in-hand, while his growing list of ailments over the years have also seemingly taken away some of what once made him special as a playmaking scorer. There's a world in which the Wizards just traded for two years at a total of $94+ million to get a player who won't help in the slightest.
At the same time, it's the exact type of move that an organization like Washington should be taking. For one, just as the downside of this trade is there when it comes to Young's outlook, the upside is there. It's clear that the relationship between him and Atlanta was beyond reproach, and we've seen a change of scenery invigorate worse than a 27-year-old who has four All-Star appearances to him name. That is to say, this is a gamble, but one with upside for the Wizards.
Washington made this trade while sitting at 10-26, but not without hope. Alex Sarr has already started coming into his own in the Wizards frontcourt, while the likes of Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, and other young assets have all made their impacts felt. What this team lacked was someone to facilitate and lead them.
Now, it's fair to question whether Young, who obviously has endured issues with at least the leadership part throughout his time in Atlanta, can do that. However, the Wizards need someone who can be a star for this young core and essentially show them the way. That wasn't going to be C.J. McCollum at this stage of his career, but there's a chance it could be Young.
When you then consider that Washington was able to take this risk — a risk that, at worst, only costs them for two seasons when they still have considerable work to do in order to contend — without forfeiting any draft capital to Atlanta, that makes it even better. The process for the Wizards here is spot on. They only don't receive top grades for the trade because the downside of Young appears more likely than the upside, but again, that doesn't mean it won't pay off for Washington.
Atlanta Hawks Grade: B+
In reality, the return that the Hawks got for Young had very little to do with "fair value" for the player, though what the guard's value really is at this point is certainly up for debate. But McCollum is most valuable to Atlanta simply because he's an expiring $30.3 million contract that gives the franchise more financial flexibility moving forward, while Kispert can potentially be a down-the-bench role player in the rotation.
But what this is more about for the Hawks is creating a new identity. Young's absence this season (he's played only 10 games) and Atlanta not only looking better without him, but also finding itself in a Play-In spot lends itself to the notion that the Hawks weren't Young's team any longer. Jalen Johnson has emerged as the proven star, and moving off of a ball-dominant guard to better facilitate an offense through Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, and even Zaccharie Risacher simply started to make more sense.
Beyond that, the newfound financial freedom in Atlanta, as Charania noted in his reporting following the trade, gives the club the opportunity to make meaningful roster improvements at this year's trade deadline. Anthony Davis was the name floated by the ESPN insider, but there are plenty of avenues that the Hawks could explore.
What became clearer than ever before this season, though, is that Young was no longer leading the Hawks in playing winning basketball. Frankly, he'd become more of a distraction than anything. Moving him to Washington, even for a paltry return in terms of face value, was a move that had to be made. Now that they've done it, it has to feel like a weight lifted, and the Hawks can be more aggressive in building their new future immediately.