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Four-time NBA All-Star Trae Young traded to Washington Wizards

Danby: Daniel Hager01/08/26DanielHagerOn3

Four-time NBA All-Star Trae Young has been traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards for veteran guard C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Young spent seven and a half seasons with Atlanta after being selected by the Hawks with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Across 493 games with the organization, the All-NBA guard averaged 25.2 points and 9.8 assists.

The star guard has played in just 10 games this season due to lingering leg injuries. In those 10 games, Young is averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists.

A change of scenery for Young has been expected for most of the season, as the Oklahoma alum was on the second-to-last season of his five-year, $215,159,700 contract that he signed in 2021. The Washington Wizards emerged as his preferred destination this week, and the move was officially made Wednesday night.

Young’s tenure in Atlanta peaked in the 2020-21 season, when the Hawks downed the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2014-2015 season. They lost in six games to Milwaukee, but Hawks fans were convinced that the organization would stay in the mix to win the conference for years to come.

Since making that run to the ECF, however, Atlanta has made the Playoffs just twice. Both appearances, the Hawks lost in the First Round. Since losing to Milwaukee in the 2021 ECF, Atlanta is just 178-189 overall.

Trae Young left profound mark in Atlanta across seven-and-a-half seasons

Young leaves the organization as the Hawks’ all-time leader in three-pointers (1,295) and assists (4,837). He is one of just 10 players in Atlanta Hawks history to make at least four All-Star game appearances (Bob Pettit, Dominique Wilkins, Joe Johnson, Lou Hudson, Lenny Wilkens, Cliff Hagan, Paul Millsap, Al Horford, and Dikembe Mutombo).

The Trae Young era in Washington now begins. The Wizards currently sit at 10-26 overall and have suffered back-to-back sub-20 win seasons prior to the current season. Bringing in a proven contributor, along with young pieces in Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington seems to be a slam dunk decision for the struggling organization.

Atlanta sits at 18-21 and now adds veteran guard C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert to its roster as it shoots for the Playoffs. The Hawks currently sit at 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, just inside the NBA Play-In Tournament parameters.