Washington Wizards Land Trae Young from Hawks in Blockbuster Trade

All-Star guard Trae Young is a Washington Wizard. Yes, you read that correctly. 

After months of frustration between Young and Atlanta's front office, the two sides have finally agreed to part ways, trading Young to Washington for veteran guard CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.  No trade picks are included in the trade.

Young is arguably the biggest mid season acquisition in franchise history for Washington, and now they have their starting point guard for the foreseeable future. 

This marks Washington's first trade during the 2025-26 season after reports escalated quickly about a potential trade with framework of a deal quickly centered around both Young and CJ McCollum.

Young signed a five year, $215 million dollar contract extension with Atlanta in 2020 after his career year in the 2019-20 season. 

That season, Young was 4th in the entire NBA in points per game (29.6), 8th in three pointers made per game (3.4) and 2nd in assists (9.3). 

Acquiring Young doesn't only give Washington a true point guard for the first time since Russell Westbrook, but it significantly raises the floor for this team. 

Young will create a great amount of scoring opportunities for Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson and others with his elite playmaking ability. Having one of the best passers in the league would greatly help the development of Washington's young core. 

Young is on the second to last year of his contract, where he is making close to $46 million this season. He also has a $49 million dollar player option for the 2026-27 season, which Young is likely to accept, making him a Wizard for at least a season and a half barring a contract extension. 

General manager Will Dawkins made it clear in the offseason that he was willing to do anything to improve the current roster, and acquiring Young certainly does that. 

Travis Schlenk, Washington's Vice President of Player Personnel was the general manager for Atlanta when they drafted Young 5th overall in 2018, so there is a clear relationship between the two sides. This relationship between Young and Schlenk was evident when Young made it clear that he wanted to be traded to Washington. 

Many have speculated that Young's preferred destination was Washington due to their abundance of cap space, making it more likely for a Young contract extension in D.C. 

Trading for Young indicates that the front office wants to finish their rebuilding stage and start contending for an NBA Championship.

News of an imminent trade was first reported by Marc Stein then Shams Charania shortly before the trade broke.

"Both sides are now collaborating on trade talks out of Atlanta, turning the page, seeing where else Trae Young can land to be the lead guard of a franchise elsewhere," Charania said on Wednesday. "And this really started in the offseason when the Hawks decided not to offer a contract extension to Trae Young and now Trae Young is seeking a team that could give him an extension. An also stemming from the fact that the Hawks have played better this season without Young in the lineup. And so here between now and the trade deadline, the Hawks can either move Trae Young, they can wait for his contract to get to an expiring deal in the offseason when he has a player option or he opts out and that gives them $40 million in cap space in the offseason. But Trae Young appears to be nearing the end of his career in Atlanta."