The Washington Wizards have been linked to Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young one month away from the 2026 NBA trade deadline.
The NBA trade deadline is officially one month away with the Washington Wizards looking as likely sellers with a handful of assets able to build on the future of the organization. But Marc Stein reported on Monday evening that the Wizards heavily in the mix for a point guard within the league.
Per Stein, “The Wizards have emerged as a legitimate potential trade destination for Atlanta's Trae Young” with CJ McCollum’s expiring contract included in discussions.
“I hear he’s trying to be really careful about this,” Stein said on ESPN on Monday. “This is a guy who saw Kevin Durant leave Oklahoma City as a kid and saw how that was and he wants to continue whether he’s there going to have a connection with Atlanta. So I don’t think he’s asking for a trade, but I don’t think he’s told them not to trade him. I’m hearing he’s open minded to being moved. He and [Kristaps] Porziņģis still haven’t really played much together and we don’t really know what that looks like, but without an extension, with Trae seemed to being blamed for a lot of the things, fair or unfair, I do think he would be open minded to a new uniform.
For a team in the midst of building around its young core, Young would mark a marquee - and expensive - addition to the roster with a need for long-term clarity at point guard. Young is earning $46 million this season and has a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season. Young becomes the second point guard linked to the Wizards this season with the Trae Young chatter apparently much more realistic.
Young is averaging 19.3 points and nearly nine assists per game this season while shooting around 30% from three in what’s been a down year for both he and the Hawks.
Hoopsrumors added that a Young-McCollum trade swap would be a salary-dump for Atlanta, but whether it’s enough for the Wizards’ front office to make a signature move remains to be seen. There is a connection between the two franchises with Travis Schlenk, the Hawks general manager who oversaw the pick swap that landed Trae Young out of Oklahoma. He spent four seasons in Atlanta before joining the Wizards as the vice president of player personnel in June 2023.
McCollum and Khris Middleton have been frequent trade candidates discussed through the season after The Athletic pointed to McCollum as one drawing interest.
"McCollum and Khris Middleton are the two Washington veterans teams will have their eye on in the buyout market, but of the two, only McCollum has played well enough to have real value on the trade market. His $30.7 million expiring salary is a major stumbling block, but one can envision deals where teams looking to shed 2026-27 money pay the Wizards in draft capital to take on salary beyond this season, especially since Washington has more cap room (roughly $80 million) than it could possibly use next summer," The Athletic said last month.
Washington moved to 9-25 after falling by 26 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, a deflating loss after the team won four of its previous five games and six of its previous ten games. The Wizards will return to action on Tuesday against Orlando, the second matchup against the divisional opponent, as Washington closes out its three-game homestand.