Hawks send Trae Young to Wizards for McCollum, Kispert in season’s first trade
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The NBA’s trade market officially opened on Wednesday, Jan. 7, when the Atlanta Hawks moved four-time All-Star guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Why Atlanta made the move
Young, 27, exits Atlanta in the middle of his eighth season. The Hawks reached the 2021 Eastern Conference finals behind the point guard, but quick postseason exits in 2022 and 2023 and a 2-8 start in the 10 games he played this year drove management to reset around a younger core of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and rookie Zaccharie Risacher.
Advanced metrics highlight the dilemma Atlanta faced. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks have allowed at least two more points per 100 possessions with Young on the floor in every season except 2022-23. Offensively, they have traditionally scored at least five points more per 100 possessions when he plays; that figure is 9.2 this season, ranking in the 95th percentile league-wide.
Even so, Atlanta’s net rating is minus-0.4 when Young sits — the best mark of his career. The club’s offense collapses only when both Young and Johnson are off the court, producing 107.8 points per 100 possessions (7th percentile). Adding McCollum is expected to stabilize those non-Young minutes; the veteran has converted 51.5% effective field-goal percentage on self-created half-court attempts, per GeniusIQ, the best mark among Hawks regulars would be Okongwu’s 50.5%.
Kispert, 26, offers wing shooting and defense under contract through 2028-29, potentially replacing soon-to-be-free-agent Luke Kennard. Financially, the trade leaves Atlanta without a player earning more than $31 million in any future season, giving the club room to re-sign McCollum or a healthy Kristaps Porziņģis and pursue additional help this summer.
How the deal fits Washington’s rebuild
Since executives Michael Winger and Will Dawkins took over in 2023, the Wizards have stockpiled prospects without pushing toward the play-offs. Young’s arrival signals the next phase of that plan.
Washington opened 2025-26 at 1-15 but has gone 9-10 since, raising the possibility that its first-round pick, owed to the New York Knicks if it falls outside the top eight, could convey. Young gives the team an elite pick-and-roll playmaker; the Wizards rank 25th in points per chance in those actions, while Young finished 12th league-wide last season among ball-handlers with at least 1,000 screens.
The 6-1 guard dominates the ball, holding possession for 5.7 minutes per game (41% of Atlanta’s offensive time), compared with McCollum’s 4.5 minutes (29%) in Washington. How that affects young starters Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr, as well as second-year guard Bub Carrington and rookie Tre Johnson, will be evaluated over the season’s final three months.
Young owns a $49 million player option for 2026-27, but the Wizards were already projected to have more than $90 million in cap space. Even if he opts in or signs an extension, Washington can still chase another max-level player or accept contracts for future draft assets.
Grades
ESPN analyst Kevin Pelton awarded both teams a B. Atlanta gains roster flexibility and another shot-creator without sacrificing picks, while Washington buys low on a proven offensive engine and secures first-hand knowledge of his fit before the offseason.
Source: ESPN
