The Hawks and Wizards have officially completed a trade sending point guard Trae Young to Washington in exchange for guard CJ McCollum and swingman Corey Kispert, Atlanta confirmed today in a press release.
ESPN’s Shams Charania, who first broke the news of the trade agreement, previously reported that Washington was Young’s preferred destination in a deal. He’ll get a fresh start as a veteran presence on a rebuilding Wizards team after spending seven-plus seasons in Atlanta.
“On behalf of the Hawks franchise, I’d like to thank Trae for how he embraced the city of Atlanta and represented the Hawks during his time here, on the court and in the community,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said in a statement. “Over more than seven seasons, including four All-Star appearances, he cemented himself as a fan favorite and one of the great players in our franchise’s history. We wish Trae and his family all the best.
“Adding CJ McCollum, one of the NBA’s most prolific shooters and a respected veteran, along with an established young veteran in Corey Kispert, will strengthen our team on the court and in the locker room, and we retain flexibility for future opportunities to continue building our program.”
Young was a four-time All-Star with the Hawks, including last season when he was the NBA’s assists leader with 11.6 per game. However, he has been limited to just 10 games this season after suffering a sprained MCL in late October and a right quad contusion that has kept him out recently.
According to Charania (Twitter link), the Hawks liked the look of their offense over the past two months centered around dynamic forward Jalen Johnson and a collection of wings and depth rather than relying on a ball-dominant guard like Young.
They also get out from under Young’s $49MM player option for 2026/27 and his desire for a contract extension. McCollum is a versatile guard with playoff experience who has a $30.6MM expiring deal, while Kispert is under contract for nearly $14MM this season and next and roughly $13MM in 2027/28.
The salary flexibility could make Atlanta more willing to increase its pursuit of Mavericks big man Anthony Davis before the trade deadline. Numerous reports have indicated that the Hawks are interested in acquiring Davis, but didn’t want to have his salary and Young’s on their books at the same time.
Charania points out that the deal reunites Young with Wizards executive Travis Schlenk, a former Hawks general manager who drafted him with the fifth pick in 2018 (Twitter link). Charania adds that team president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins have been targeting a veteran star to blend with the young talent they’ve accumulated in recent drafts (Twitter link).
The Hawks no longer project to be over the cap this summer and could have $29MM in cap space, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). With McCollum, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard, Atlanta has more than $70MM in expiring contracts. The acquisition of Young leaves the Wizards with a projected $46MM in cap room, down from about $80MM, assuming he doesn’t opt out and leave in free agency.
The Hawks “heavily valued” Kispert’s three-point shooting and viewed him as a vital part of the deal, sources tell Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. He has been limited to 19 games this season due to injuries to his thumb and hamstring.
McCollum, who has been a full-time starter in his first season with Washington, provides another proven scorer for the Hawks’ backcourt. He’s not likely to get bought out once the deal is complete, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), because his Bird rights could become useful in an offseason sign-and-trade. If there is a buyout, Gozlan notes that apron teams such as Cleveland, Dallas, Golden State, Minnesota and New York wouldn’t be permitted to sign McCollum.
According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), Young left the Hawks’ bench with about 31 seconds left in tonight’s game and gave high-fives to a few of his teammates as he headed to the locker room (YouTube link). At a post-game press conference, coach Quin Snyder told reporters that he’s “not at liberty to talk about or answer” any questions about the Young deal because it hasn’t been officially finalized, per Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link).
Great place for him to pad stats and show up when he wants
He might post some insane stats there but they’re going to lose more games
Agent Zero, John Wall, Trae Young, the Wizards have a type!
I think this is a true win/win deal for the Hawks and Trae. Hawks may not be more talented with this move, but they’re definitely more inline with their vision for the team moving forward.
Trae gets another chance to be the focal point of an offence and likely a lucrative extension as I don’t see the Wiz picking him up just to let him go in the offseason should he decline his option. I don’t know that the Wiz become much better with this deal, but they’re definitely more newsworthy.
AD trade idea from Sillivan
Hawks get $71 million
AD
Klay
Mavs get $71 million
Jalen Johnson
KP
Luke Kennard
A trade idea from Sillivan. . .posted by Sillivan?!?! Someone pinch me!
You do understand that the reason they moved Trae was to continue letting Jalen into the centre piece of this team. They’re not going to turn around and deal him for Klay or AD, that’s just foolish.
JJ is basically untouchable in Atlanta now, there are probably 2-3 players in the league that they would consider dealing him for.
You have no ball knowledge if you think that Jalen Johnson is getting traded and game 6 klay is going to a team that already has a ton of 3 and D wings
It would be porzingis returns to mavs with risacher and Kennard for AD
Klay could be traded back to golden state for Jonathan kuminga but he still has hard feelings with them
Golden State doesn’t want Thompson, he’s cooked.
Yeah, I agree – Jalen Johnson is pretty close to untradeable at this point.
Why on earth would Atlanta trade three guys in their prime for two geezers
Hahaha, Jalen Johnson for glass house. Nope. AD is as much a salary dump as anything.
Sillivan must be the #1 Dallas Mavericks fan to propose a trade like this. I think that Sillivan is really Mark Cuban.
They gave away Young. Incredible
Wizards did great.
They got what they could, that contract makes it not a great value.
Trae gives Wizards the type of player they need most. He helps every player on Wizards roster. Plus he gives them an all star player to look up to. Even if he stays two yrs. It will be well worth it. They own his Bird rights.
Trae no longer fit with this team. Of course it was more of a salary dump that’s going to help the Hawks throughout the season into next
Agree Knick, Atlanta got zip
@KnickAl
Except he’s the ultimate 1-way player in the league. You’re the one that’s always dissing Luka for that, so how exactly does this mean the Wizards did great?
He and Luka are not the same. Trae is a small guard who needs weight and strength imo. He gets beat on D mostly because of that. Yet he does play team D. And with a real rim protector he is serviceable on defense. As he proved taking Hawks to East Finals in 2021. He was most responsible for beating a favored Sixers team. Go chk out his stats for series. He literally won 2 gms with his PG play.
Luka is twice the size of Trae. Doesn’t have the size issue Trae does on defense. He just doesn’t want to play D. The NBA knows this about Luka. He is above playing D. He has behaved better in LA. Nobody in the NBA has the disdain for defense that Luka has.
They are not the same imo.
link to basketball-reference.com
Trae — 6’ 1”, 164 lbs……. Luka — 6’ 8”, 233 lbs and he lost 30 lbs for Lakers.
Trae to wizards reminds me of Deron Williams to nets Trae could be the right guy to make the wizards good again
link to yardbarker.com
“ Once again, fans and media have pointed the finger at Luka Doncic, whose defensive efforts — or lack thereof — have left plenty to be desired. Nevertheless, not everybody feels the same way. LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, for instance, thinks it’s not on Doncic to play defense in Los Angeles.”
Yeah I just saw it a long time ago …… Doesn’t bother you Luka chose now to lose 33 lbs. At 27 yrs old. He still doesn’t care about playing D …
Trae Young is NBA fools gold.
Defensive liability that cannot be played in crucial situations because teams will hunt him.
No contender wants him, Ja or LeMelo. Stat players who cannot play D are not valuable.
Yeah that’s how you lead NBA in ast. Trae single handedly took Hawks to East Finals. He may be a liability on D. That’s why you have rim protecters.
Nobody is worse than Luka on D ……
Wow that is basically giving him away. Crazy how far his value has fallen.
Clearly the bar has been lowered since the Doncic trade.
The equal value is
Trae = McCollum+ Krispert + 2029 Picks Swap in favor of Hawks
I am an expert to do the equal value equation
I used to loathe your posts but now I look forward to them! Thanks for the humor my friend!
I always enjoy the comic aspects of HoopsRumors’ comments. Good entertainment during the Arctic night. :)
He’s also basically a free agent though. Team trading for him could see him decline his player option and walk after this year if they don’t extend him. Now is that very likely, or more likely than him exercising his option if he’s not extended? Idk. Probably not. But no one wanted to give anything up to be in that scenario I guess
It’s the contract. There’s no way with teams knowing he wanted out and with the amount he makes and the new cap there’s only about three or four teams that could absorb him. So with that being the case, there’s nothing you can really get. You’re not going to get first round picks for him.
I believe the wizards are going to be pretty nice and he’s going to help the young guys develop. I don’t think people on here understand you do not develop without a point guard or a team that can get you in the right positions. They’re just running up and down the course, shooting the ball shooting over top of defenses with a hand up. Young will get these players open and draw some type of action and double team or possessions. It’s not really a win-win cuz CJ McCollum is not a long-term. He’s old and too small. He’ll impact a little bit but not much on Atl. The win is the cap space. For Trey young. This will be a crucial 2 years for him if he can get this young team to the playoffs next year. Nobody’s expecting him to do anything this year because they’re tanking but we will see next year when they add a top 3 pick. If they get AJ or boozer this could be a quick rebuild, especially with the rest of the young collective players they have
Speaking of too small, Trae Young is 6’2″, 1′ shorter than CJ.
Well he can’t stay healthy and the Hawks couldn’t win consistently with him in the lineup. The Hawks are better without him
Atlanta got ripped off.
Fo free
Terrible deal for Hawks
Salary dumping an all star point guard who’s only 27 and lead your team to the eastern conference finals before.
I understand that you’re going to do the AD deal and don’t want to have all that money on the books. And Trae has you you don’t at times and what not but your getting back nothing for a all star that’s never a good move
Wizards pretty much dumped Kispert’s contract in the move too…pretty good deal for them to not have to part with any picks.
Excellent deal for Wizards, you add an all star point guard to lead this team.
You get rid of Kisperts deal and all it cost you was CJ on an expiring deal
Agreed, though there is a world where Trae plays well enough that the Wiz get close to but don’t make the play-in and have their pick fall into the 9-12 range, which then would be conveyed to the Knicks.
Young is pretty much a negative value at this point with his health, lack of defense and contract demand. Plus the Hawks are already showing they are better without him. Simply getting off his $49 million next season is a plus.
CJ is basically on par defensively.
As for health this is the first season he missed a lot of time.
Then as for contract demand you’re going to be trading for AD and then extend him.
He’s older, misses more game time and will be just as expensive…
You’re not wrong luapnor, but only a net $35M impact for Wizards next season once you send out Kispert…not an awful gamble for Wizards. Of course that can change if they give him an extension.
Yep. Trading Trae secures the identity of this team. Hawks are about to get better with another trade too.
Your comment has negative value IMO
Yeah but he made other stars worst. Hes just a ball hog
Other stars like who… he’s never had an all star teammate near their prime…
This years he’s had KP who’s past his prime and Jalen Johnson but Traes only played like 10 games this season so hardly counts.
Dejounte before then was injured and was never really going to work either
Agreed. Him and Dejounte were always going to be a bad fit, pinning that on just Trae or just Dejounte is not fair to either. Bad trade by the Hawks FO is where the blame lands on that one.
He’s a clear floor raiser, which is all the Wizards need at the moment.
Lol nonsense
Great deal for ATL getting out from that $48m due to TY next szn. And McCollum can still ball.
Kispert is underrated too they’ve added even more wing depth
I’d like to see Corey Kispert get a better chance to play. He was a top pick and has never started a NBA game.
Kispert was a 15th pick, and actually has started 105 games for the Wizards.
Not a good trade in my opinion. He is Too small for what is an nba trend now… defensive liability. hope we dont keep him that long. Wiz is desperate i guess. What happened to getting a young one… ? I guess that’s him trae young 😂
Wizards had to add over $70m to reach the salary floor next year and will have 10-11 guys on rookie scale deals leaving 3-4 spots to do that. This handles a good chunk of that and they still will have about $40mil in space to add to the roster. They are just moving their cap flexibility another year into the future here.
Indeed pdow
They got off 15 mill for 27 summer as well which could be ( finally ) a good free agent class . I’m not a kiispert fan but Rui and Deni of years past coulda had um seeing headlights , kudos for proceeding thru that
Was going to be hard to spend 70+ wisely , I’m ok with this money swapage you just can’t extend Trae until at least mid season next year IF he checks all the boxes
My fear here is there’s a handshake deal for a summer ext and that would just be a kick in nuts imo for everyone but Trae
I’d wanna see the last 45 games this year , him in camp/ preseason and sone 1st half gains next year before the wallet comes out
no picks included? and bane demanded 4 first rounders this offseason, wild how his value fell
He doesn’t play defense and gets a lot of techs and is not a nice guy
Atlanta was literally playing better without him running the point so he was the problem in their system
Your wrong but okay
Oh my God he actually ended up in Washington. I don’t particulary like this whole situation, I just hope everything ends up well…
No wizardry here, they overpaid.
I bet he is going to average 30 and 9 as a wizard but he is going to leave to a team that needs a PG in free agency (rockets?)
I’m surprised Milwaukee didn’t want to trade kuzma and Cole Anthony for him to make Giannis happy
He would make Bucks worse because no defense. That means GA has to cover his ass all the time.
Only going to Rockets on MLE unless they did some sign and trade. They stillwould value FVV on a bad leg more.
Trae Young cannot play in Ime Udoka’s system. Lets get be honest, ok?
Trae Young cannot guard anyone in the NBA and gets hunted by players who will destroy him.
What is ironic is that I think the Wizards made the right deal bc nobody wants to play for them. So they will sell some tickets and promote Young but they will still be horrible and draft high.
No picks is insane
One of the trades ever, which is not what you should be saying about a deal involving a player of Young’s “talent”.
It was definitely one of the trades ever, you nailed it
Trading within the same division not just conference basically tells you they don’t view you as a threat.
Trojan horse.
Hawks get some outside shooting. Will do them good come playoff time. Wizards get a point guard who can run an offense and throw tasty lobs. Alex Sarr, get ready for monster stats.
False.
neat.
Wizards are not making the playoffs…OMG stop.
In my opinion this trade works for both sides. McCollum is a proven scorer and also an expiring contract, Kispert is a sharpshooter that is on a very team friendly contract but also getting far less minutes due to the youth movement of the Wizards, he definitely shows out more with actual minutes, but even if his minutes are restricted, he’s a guy that comes in and maximizes his impact immediately. Trae goes to a team that really needs an actual point guard, the younger players, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson will benefit greatly from both playing with Trae and the extra minutes freed up with the inclusion of Kispert in the trade. Whether Trae sticks around long term or not this was the move to make for the Wiz in my opinion.
Hawks got no picks????
What a joke!
Wolves or bucks should have got him.
Trae is not a better team and system player than Naz Reid or Donte D. Minn would have had to include 1 of them.
Bucks would have needed both Kuzand Portis. Makes them worse as they get 1 player for 2 serviceable players.
Trae is trash. The only trade with Wolves is for Randle and that’s only because Randle is a garbage turnover no defense machine, same as Trae. But salaries don’t match so no go.
Weird. Randle avgs 5.7 apg with 2.5 TO pg, that’s an excellent ast/TO ratio of 2.28, and the only Wolves starter with a better Drtg than his 113 is Gobert.
He’s 2nd on the team in PER, WS/48, and VORP. Trading him would be a huge mistake.
Hopefully CJ can help right the ship in Atlanta. They don’t really need a PG with Johnson around plus Dice and CJ can both run the offense for stretches.
i didnt think it was possible that any trade in nba history would ever be as bad as doncic for anthony davis
i stand corrected
This has nothing on the Doncìc for Davis trade.
Kinda does if the Mavs give up AD for KP and Kennard.
Would’ve gone from Luka to KP and Kennard just like that hahahaha
This does look bad for the Wizards…
Even though Atlanta upgraded with CJ… he is no Luka Doncic…
In my opinion it doesn’t look bad for either side. McCollum was taking away minutes from younger guys on a team that is not really close enough to be competing for a playoff spot. Kispert, is a redundant player to have on a team that has plenty of 3 point shooters, though his contract is not a very intolerable one. Trae Young however provides those young wizard players that can distribute the ball to varying extents, an exemplary point guard to work with. Whether he is only willing to stick around in the short term, or re-up and stick for the immediate future or even longer, what return are you going to get for McCollum or Kispert that outweighs Trae Young? You can still deal the man away at a later date if things dont work out.
Atlanta got what they needed…
They got rid of the “how can we build successfully around Trae”…
The Wizards got what they wantrd… a former all star to sell to their fans…
And in my opinion, thats fine. Realistically the wiz aren’t getting much for any other trades involving Kispert or McCollum. With Trae however, short term rental or sign and trade or any other scenario you want to think up, the return is far more likely to be better. In the end, my opinion is that both franchises benefit from this trade however it shakes down in the end. Atlanta gets a proven scorer on an expiring contract and a sharpshooter on a team friendly deal while ditching a very expensive contract.
Washington gets an outstanding elite pg that can help its young players by merely playing with them. And hey if Trae gels with this team, whose to say it isn’t worth keeping him around? If it doesn’t work out or Trae doesn’t exercise his option well you still have plenty of cap space to work with lol. In my opinion this trade was definitely the best option for both parties.
@ Scarlett….you draft luka not Trae, oops.
No, it’s pretty bad for the Wiz
Huge win for Atlanta!!!
They upgraded big time…
Now they can be taken seriously…
By Who ???? The play-in game.
I’m sure the Bulls and Heat are shaking in their shorts….
This is crazy coming from a Knicks fan lol
I happen to like Trae ……. Only as a player. Us small PGs stick together lol. Who are the Hawks. Good young talent. Yrs away.
Upgraded going from Trae Young to CJ, what you smoking hahahaha
The East is trembling …..
The East is weak…
Addition by subtraction… The Hawks made more sense as a team when Trae sat, they simply needed some players who can spread the floor without losing picks…
Jan 5 2026 ….. Hornets 124 — Thunder 97 ….
What’s weaker than this ………
The top teams never take the bottom feeders of the east seriously… why scout for 2 games a year?
Yeah that must be it ….. getting beat by 27.
The wolves often blew out the Warriors with KD when they were tanking at the end of a season…
That’s how the NBA season goes… the top teams don’t show up for the bottom feeders…
That may be for you. No top team with a full squad. Should ever get trashed by last place teams. Bad sign to me. On a good team. Your bench will come in and win it.
guess this is the only way anyone actually cares about Washington this late into the season
I like watching Alex Sarr
Elvin Hayes one of best ever.
Earl the Pearl Monroe ———. Black Jesus in the streets. Spike Lee made a movie about him.
Invented the spin move …..
Good move by Wizards. Time for them to start winning games. PG is a position of need. They get the best passing PG in NBA. Now all their wings and guards will benefit from this.
They ain’t winning nothing…
Tanking with a “star” is all they are doing…
Now try a trade of Trae Young, Marvin Bagley, Cam Whitmore, AJ Johnson and Justin Champagnie to the Kings for Zach LaVine, Doug McDermott, Maxime Raynaud and Eubanks with a pick
Bench LaVine so he declines his player option
Have Marvin Bagley start and show he’s the only one last standing with Luka, Trae Young selections, so nobody can ever say anything about anyone drafting whoever crap ever again
Atlanta can gain long sustained success in the east if they play their cards right. Good young guys locked up. Cap looks good going forward. Improvement from within and handy picks up their sleeve. Don’t shoot your shot early, patience.
Agree
Naw was an amazing sign last year
One of the best. NAW>Randle
Bad trade for both teams
I like this deal for Atlanta and for Corey Kispert
Win for Atlanta: Trae was killing their vibe, they’ll win more without him
Win for Trae: he’ll pad his stats with no pressure, he obviously wasn’t fitting next to the superior Jalen Johnson
Win for Washington: they’ll develop their young players on offense thanks to Trae’s gravity and passing, and they’ll tank harder because of his terrible defense, ensuring they lose enough to keep their protected pick
So the McCollum multi-teamer from last year now means the Wizards traded Saddiq Bey, Micah Peavy, Jordan Poole + 1 2RP for Trae Young, Malaki Branham and Cam Whitmore?
That’s…not a bad trade?
Good for you Atl !!!!!
Remeber the time when there Was a Discussion who was better, Doncic or Trey?😆
Now Atlanta is happy to trade him for an aging veteran and a role player
Maybe they’ll trade CJ for AD and it will be like Trae and Luka are the same.
I guess neither plays a lick of defense and neither will ever win a ring. So there is that.
There was never a real discussion…
No one ever expected Trae to be a winning player…
Remember when all the geniuses said, the Hawks would get three or four for round draft choices for this guy? Now they trade him for spare parts.
No one said that. Ice cube was always a stat padding trash can.
Incredible deal for Atlanta for multiple reasons. They always seem to end up with one of those to take them a step forward, before then making some move at some point to go backwards, but I really like their current roster, if healthy, and used right
Washington used multiple high picks on scoring only undersized guards they dont need, so naturally it makes sense to trade for 1 making $50 million
Wizards are dumb. And giving up Kispert too. lol.
In a perfect world, Trae would’ve been on winning teams like the spurs, Denver or even Orlando would look nice with him as their starting pg. I know most of those teams are doing well without him but like I said..hypothetically in a perfect world, I believe Trae could’ve really thrived on one of those teams.
And the Wiz keep on Wizzing
Curious to see what the extension will be. How about 3 years $110 million?
Great trade for Atlanta. Kispert is a proven outside shooter. I’ve been high on him last few years, career 38.3% 3PT shooter, and he’ll turn 27 in March with a really team friendly deal. Hawks clearing $71M off their books for next year with Kennard/Porzingis contracts as well. If they get Peterson in the draft, watch out. This team might be for real within a year or two. Tons of young talent. Is Synder the right guy for this team, or do they go after someone else? That is my question. He has one year left on his original at $8M, set to expire after 2026/27.
Wizards finally get an established PG in his prime since John Wall days. I think he’ll make others better around him on offense. At least Washington didn’t give up any picks, but Wizards are trying to accelerate their rebuild.
Hawks get A
Wizards get B-
Trae is talented but too many times his shot selection and size come into play in games.
I’d guess the trade turns out a win win. Both teams are better off.
This trend of salary dumping is funny to me. It takes like two yrs for teams to change their mind. Yet Zion gets extended. Embiid gets extended. PG gets extended. MPJ got extended. I get it’s a business. The NBA is a business of building to win. And that doesn’t take big salaries. It takes talent. Remember only 5 players play. A tight rotation has 8-10 players. Draft well and develop well. And you will stop overpaying players.
There are rumors Wizards not really interested in playing Trae this year. Knicks own Wizards pick top8 protected. Thats a good player this year. I don’t see Wizards giving that up.
Yet I am praying lols …🙏🙏
Quick a three team trade. Brooklyn throws in Clowney, Highsmith, cash and a 2nd
Probably the best for the wiz as they need to lose more this season as trae will probably play less games and get a better shot this summer.