5:15 pm: In a full Substack story, sources tell Stein that the Hawks and Wizards discussed a trade centered around Young and McCollum on Monday. Washington has been actively looking at deals involving McCollum, according to Stein, who says the Hawks previously expressed interest in the former Most Improved Player winner in February 2022.
Young is looking increasingly likely to be moved before the February 5 deadline, Stein reports, and it’s also expected that the ex-Oklahoma star will pick up his player option for next season, which was hinted at by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype last month.
The Hawks are working with Young and his agents to find a trade for the 27-year-old point guard, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
4:01 pm: The Wizards have “legitimate” interest in trading for Hawks star Trae Young, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that a potential deal would involve Washington sending out CJ McCollum‘s expiring contract.
Stein technically says the Wizards are a possible landing spot for Young, but they presumably wouldn’t want to take on his maximum-salary contract if they weren’t interested in having him on the team. The four-time All-Star earns $46MM this season and holds a $49MM player option for 2026/27.
Young has been pretty durable throughout his career, but has been limited to just 10 games so far this season due to a sprained MCL in his right knee and a right quad contusion.
Stein previously reported that Young’s presence on the Hawks could prevent the team from pursuing Anthony Davis due to ownership’s reluctance to pay for a roster that would be prohibitively expensive. A potential trade sending Young to Washington could be a precursor to a deal in which Davis lands with Atlanta.
The fifth overall pick of the 2018 draft, Young holds career averages of 25.2 points, 9.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .432/.351/.873 shooting in 493 games (34.0 minutes per contest). He’s having a down season in ’25/26, averaging 19.3 PPG, 8.9 APG and 1.0 SPG on .415/.305/.863 shooting through 10 contests (28.0 MPG).
A Young/McCollum swap would essentially be a salary-dump deal for the Hawks, observes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Veteran combo guard McCollum is earning $30.7MM this season and the Wizards would have to send out at least $6.2MM in additional salary to make a trade legal for matching purposes, Gozlan adds.
McCollum, 34, has been productive in his first season as a Wizard, averaging 18.6 PPG, 3.6 APG and 3.5 RPG on .449/.392/.800 shooting in 34 games (30.7 MPG).
Does that say “more to come” or “move to come” lol
Not sure how this fits into Washingtons timeline for competing? They aren’t really close and I don’t think Trae brings them closer to the top. Does Trae wanna play for them also?
Trae is not in that tier to say whether or not he wants to play somewhere or not. He does not have a no trade clause either. This move just gives Wiz more time with a bloated contract. Middleton and CJ are expiring so they need to move them or they lose them for nothing. Kispert is probably the next highest paid on their team.
He kind of is, due to the player option. The Hawks won’t get the kind of return they want from a team if he is unwilling to either extend or accept his option as part of the deal. In this instance, why would the Wizards give up draft capital for half a season of Trae Young when they’ll be a lottery team regardless?
The way the league cap is no team really can just sign him as a FA unless he wants to go to Utah and they have George. It would need to be a sign and trade so Washington would still get something back. They have 6 total picks and already have plenty of rookie deal guys. The picks need to be moved as they don’t have roster space.
“Trae is not in that tier to say whether or not he wants to play somewhere or not. He does not have a no trade clause either.”
Your first point is simply not a real thing. The second part is.
You’re looking at this the wrong way. Tre will fill the stands more and won’t impact winning. You have to pay a certain amount of money every year. You can’t have all rookie and young contracts like The wizards have. So after Middleton and McClellan leave is about 25 to 30 mil that they’re going to have to Shell out. Why not take a chance on Tre. He does pass the ball and he will compliment the rest of the younger players.
Accelerate the time line or future trade bait.
Smart buy low by a historically not smart franchise
The fact that they aren’t close is the point. Bringing in an elite offensive engine like Trae will raise the game of their young guys specifically Tre Johnson, Alex Sarr, Coulibaly & Will Riley. Kyshawn is gonna beast no matter what but those other 4 guys are gonna be big beneficiaries of Trae’s offensive genius. The Wizards have been at their best over the past couple decades when they had an elite pg & Trae is the next in line. They’re def not making playoffs this yr either but they’ve tanked long enough. Trae will definitely re-sign there if they offer him a good deal & give him the keys to the franchise.
The Wizards would probably receive draft compensation in a deal that sends out $37 M and takes back $46 M. So, that would be the goal, not necessarily getting better.
The downside of such a deal for the Wizards would be that they need to be one of the worst 4 teams in the NBA to avoid possibly losing their pick to the Knicks.
The upside would be that if there is a fit with Trae, they might be pretty fun to watch next year.
Lol bro if they trade for Trae Young then getting Trae Young would be the goal. They’ve needed a pg ever since Russ left, now they’d have one.
Trae’s lack of size seems to be catching up to him after all these minutes he’s logged. I can imagine this trade happening and he plays 40 or less games for the Wizards for 2 years.
It should feel weird to wish an injury upon another human. Especially someone you never met who you have no beef with. Right after you typed that it shoulda struck you as wrong.
lol. wut? he missed 22 games this year already with an MCL and now has a quad problem. Are you ok?
The “quad problem” he’s dealing with now is us keeping him out so we can trade him & bc the team is much better without him rn. The actual injury that he had earlier in the season was the type that he woulda been back in a couple weeks if it was playoffs. Relatively minor injury that they were very cautious with bc in large part bc the team was playing great without him. But you didn’t reference these, you said something weird about his size catching up to him which I didn’t know what that meant lol. I understand him being chronically hurt would give yall an easy avenue to hate on him tho. Something to hope for I guess.
Right.
Geo is 100 percent right. Everyone else is wrong
Washington will be $80m of something like that under the salary floor next season because CJ and Middleton are on expiring deals. They need to sign somebody.
Signing Young is not just a basketball move for the Wiz, it also helps them solve a salary issue for the next season.
Wiz have way too many 2nd rounders this year. They need to make some kind of move,they also have no one you view as a future star. Sarr can be a very good defender just not some dominate star.
Trae Young is so overrated…
Couldn’t agree more. A glorified 6th man on a max contract
Trae Young on the right team. Can help make them good. To be real good. You need a good D team. A rim protector a 2way SG next to him. Wizards have the makings of that. Especially if Hawks are giving him away.
Trae is a OneWay star like Luka and Harden was. Stars like Embiid, Zion, AD, PG who can’t stay on the court. All get paid max money. MPJ, Markkannen, Zach, Hero all overpaid stars cause they put up nice numbers, mostly scoring. Until the day comes. When players get what they deserve. And get paid for wgat we think they can do. The pay scale will be messed up. Giannis, SGA are 2Way stars. Only players who pkay both ways. And play 85% of their gms every yr. Deserve max money. Not the Embiids or the Zions or the Youngs, Markkannens of the L.
I would trade for Young. As ling as he is not expecting max money.
link to yardbarker.com
Unfortunately in the salary cap world, you will have players making max money just because the money exists. Are those mid level players worth it, no, but the teams doling out those contract are in a position where they can’t add talent outside of the roster or can’t attract free agents. A lot of times you have mid tier players getting more money just so they can be used to salary matching purposes. Kris Middleton with the bucks comes to mind as a great team player that got max money just because the bucks had no other options. Clearly declining skill set but gets a max deal because the bucks couldn’t add to the roster
Yeah but what I am saying is. The time has come to do something about it. Just like they don’t want to pay Westbrook. In what world is Mavs Russell worth more than Westbrook.
I gave you the particulars. Real 2way players like SGA, Giannis, Kobe, MJ, Hakeem, Ewing, Jokic. Who are considered elite offensively. Are the standard terminology of a max player. Luka and Trae are NOT. This is a 2Way sport. And any max player has to play good D. Luka is NOT worth same money as SGA. Players who get hurt all the time are not worth max money. There has to be standards to play this game. I get offense is more important than defense. You can compensate players who are first team n second team D players.
Jokic and SGA are not two way players too. No defense
Basketball is a multi-billion dollar industry just here in America. I can’t imagine how much $ is generated by the sport worldwide. You just called out a bunch of the very best basketball players in the world & said they’re overpaid & dont deserve what they earn, even though they are the ones filling the stadiums & making people’s jaws drop. Who else deserves that money more? Should the owners get to keep more of it? Is it Bill Simmons & Woj & SVP that are the real underpaid heroes of the game that deserve those millions more than Embiid & AD? We’ve seen over & over again that these are unquestionably the best basketball players alive. If you like high level basketball you’re gonna have to watch them lol you might as well accept that.
The day you learn how the game is played. Is the day you understand what I say. You been down this road since the day Zion was drafted.
This is a 2way sport. And you have to show up to get paid. I rather pay my bench guys more money. And have real depth. Than give 30-35% of my cap to a player who doesn’t deserve more than 20-25%. Cap restrictions are there for a reason. You should deal with reality first ………
And here I thought Sacramento held top spot for poor front office skills if Young does move to DC.
They need a real PG. He’s worth a look especially at a cheap price.
Why would it be poor front office skills to move CJ McCollums expiring contract to land Trae Young’s contract with 1 year left? It’s pushing the Wizards cap space to 2027 which has a stronger free agent class. It’s chess, not checkers.
I keep trying to explain this logic to someone who says “why would anyone want Draymond and Buddy” because it applies to them too.
If they’re going to make a move for him I’m sure they’re looking to negotiate an extension being the player option. Apparently his agents are involved as well, which in my opinion means DC is doomed for mediocrity. He is not a player you build around, nor is he a player you even acquire to compliment another.
Young has a player option next year for $49 M but can obviously get more total guaranteed money than that as a free agent…so unless he wants to be in DC, he has options. I think the Wizards want an asset (pick, young player) and a chance to see if the Trae thing would work. And they’re probably comfortable with paying him $49 m next year.
The part that doesn’t make sense is that the Wizards also want to keep their top-8 protected pick.
Nobody is paying him more. There isn’t a FA market for him. Go chk the teams who have cap. He is for sure taking that extra year.
link to hoopshype.com
Agreed. I don’t see anyone committing serious coin on him for anything being a couple of years, if that…unless it’s Sacramento.
I don’t get it Trae is not an impact player. In fact he’s indicative of what’s wrong with the NBA right now. A talented player who never matured into high IQ guy and never made their team better that is vastly overpaid. He’s been so inconsistent this year. 30 points and 10 assists one game and them 8 and 5 the next. The Wizards are better off keeping CJ who is on a 1/$30 vs Tray who makes $48 mil this year with a players option for $49 mil next week. At least with CJ you have a more constant baseline player who you can count on for 18/5 and a solid 45-50% FG/ near 40% from the 3. Young kid an awful volume shooter and while he ranks up assists I would never call him a floor general. Washington has a lot of Washington but i think Tray is not the kind of player that’s going to help much.
Keep in mind that you may just have a terrible understanding of the game of basketball. Lol just maybe Trae actually is a great basketball player & it’s you that have no idea what you’re talking about. Consider that possibility as well.
He plays zero defense, hosts up 8 3pt attempts a game and of currently shooting a tag over 30%. Have at em if you choose but he’s not the kind of point guard that’s going to make a team better.
He immediately made the Hawks better. He immediately made OU better. He will immediately make the Wizards better. I agree he’s terrible defensively. So is Luka, so was Magic, so was Nash, so is Steph. He’s not the 1st, the 10th nor the greatest great player to be terrible defensively. He is clearly an all-time great level pg tho. I mean he’s been around for years if you don’t know by now it’s really nothing I can tell you. This is 1 of many examples of him making his team better in a big game vs. a great team tho… link to youtube.com
Instead of resorting to ad hominems and trashing this guy’s basketball knowledge, maybe you should take a look at the Hawks stats this season with Trae on the floor vs. Trae off the floor. He has been making this team worse when he plays. Consider that you’re being a homer and that @KnicksFanCavsFan is spot on (at least in regards to this season) and you’re blinded by your Hawks fandom. Trae has been awful this year. Washington is terrible and adding Trae wouldn’t change that.
I’m pretty sure I called this exact development last night. No sources needed, just a lil common sense….
Kristaps Porzingis, Zacch Risacher, Mo Gueye & N’Faly Dante to Dallas for Anthony Davis
Trae Young to DC for either…
Khris Middleton, Bub Carrington, Marvin Bagley & OKC’s 2026 1st… or….
CJ McCollum, Cam Whitmore, Marvin Bagley & OKC’s 2026 1st
Dyson/Nickeil/Jalen/ADavis/Onyeka with 3J, Keaton, Vit, Luke, Whitmore, Bagley & Asa off the bench. We’d also have 3 1sts in a historically strong draft & most importantly a strong defensive identity for the 1st time since Dwight was here.
AD health is always the big gamble. Probably worth it in the East.
I’ve watched a lot of Anthony Davis & a lot of Zacch Risacher & I’d def place my bet on Davis helping us winning a title being more likely than Zacch. Zacch could def develop into a starter level guy on a title contender but he’s not there yet. I’ve already seen Davis do it.
Keep forgetting ATL owns the Pelicans first rounder in 2026 draft. Hawks should probably try and move Porzingis now too or hold onto him for a playoff run.
So basically the Hawks are giving up Young for nothing? Seems about right
I think some of the young guys would benefit more playing with Trae over McCollum, though I do like CJ. Depending on what it takes to get such a trade done, it also probably opens up a better future return for a Trae trade that benefits the Wizards more than a McCollum trade. Hard to say if he’d be willing to re-up with the Wiz or exercise his option for next year. But I do think if you’re not seeing the offers you like for McCollum, this type of trade could be worth considering, even if its solely based on Trae working with your young guys and those young guys playing with that level of a talent. If its me making the decision, I think the benefits outweigh the risk, depending on how high the cost is.
Salary dumping Trae Young would be such a falloff
He was all nba third team like 3 seasons ago, he’s a 4 time all star, one of the best playmakers in the league, although he lacks the efficiency he’s still one of the better shooters. Plus on top of all that he’s only 27.
Giving up all that for an expiring contract in a salary dump which is what this looks like for now would be hugely disappointing for both the hawks and Trae.
As for the Wizards sure if you get the chance to add a star for next to nothing you do it but at the same time it makes next to no sense. Him and Johnson in the backcourt offer nothing on defence. He’s not on the timeline as Sarr Coulibaly Johnson and others. I understand you don’t say no to that level upgrade but makes you think are they going to be aggressive in making more deals.
They currently have the 4th best odds at getting the number 1 pick in a very good draft.
Caleb Wilson (currently rated as the 4th best prospect) would be a huge addition and a good fit at PF. If your plan is to now start being a competitive side again then go for it but you’re going to need to make more moves.
I’d be looking for a better 2 and have Johnson as a sixth man off the bench. You should have cap space with Middleton coming off the books. Kispert needs to go, Bub can leave, AJ/Riley/Whitmore all these boys can be moved.
Maybe you target Grimes to partner Trae in FA. He plays some defence but would be a good secondary scorer/ball handler. RJ Barrett would be a bad trade target. Maybe KCP if you’d rather a vet and cheaper target. Trey Murphy would be huge if you could make that happen. Even Keon Ellis could be nice at the right price.
Wizards have the 30th pick (OKC’s) and 4 second round picks, if you could come up with something for Trey Murphy that’d be huge.
Young Murphy George Wilson Sarr
… Johnson Coulibaly Champagne …
The talk of a team being on the same timeline was always extremely weird to me tbh. Was the 90s Bulls on the same timeline? Why do people feel like it’s advantageous for the whole core of a team to be the same age lol? I never get that tbh. Trae (the pg) being more experienced than their other young guns makes all the sense in the world tbh. In fact they tried it the way you say with Bub as their rookie pg last yr & that didn’t work at all. Wasn’t any better this season when he was starting either. It seems so obv that Trae is just what the doc ordered as far as DC’s offense.
And as far as this being such a disappointing falloff lol that’s just American human nature to try to spin something negatively & hate on a rich, successful Black guy. This would be a great development for Trae & the Hawks tbh. We had 7 great yrs together & now he’s on to the next & so are the Hawks. In the Hawks case we’re in a much, much better place now than we were when we got him & he’s the biggest reason for that. For him he’s in the midst of a HOF career& will look to add a lil more team success to his already incredible resume. It was a trip to see everybody so excitedly saying that nobody wanted Trae lol I mean folks are something else I swear.
“..that’s just American human nature to try to spin something negatively & hate on a rich,successful Black guy”.
The previous commenter is referring to it being a fall off for the Hawks and mentions how successful Trae has been.
How is that strictly ..”American human nature..”. Historically inaccurate and just completely untrue.
Get a new schtick, Sankara. Nobody falls for that BS anymore.
He believes in that BS more than anyone on this board. Just looks for it …….
The funny thing is Trae is probably more white than black lol.
Agreed, KBAI. Not to mention, every white person on this board is here checking for updates on their favorite teams/athletes, a majority of which are black.
Yeah it’s nothing to do with yall culture. Just the fact he was a top 25 player (all nba) and now he’s a salary dump. You would rather have the cap space than have him is what it comes down too and that’s all to accommodate bringing in AD who’s older and banged up. I’m both a big Trae fan and a big AD fan but it just seems wrong to get get back nothing someone so talented and for Trae to be on top and give so much to a team then get dumped for nothing to a bad side like Washington just sucks for him.
I know it’s more about money than anything and the players get huge amounts for what they do but I always feel in any sport it’s so much more beneficial to a team than a player. Now he’s going to be stuck in a place he ideally would rather not be for the next however many years. Either way wish him the best
The Wizards are bad, but there’s a lot of talent there. Adding Trae to that team helps them. Of course, I’m assuming he’s gonna bounce back. Washington would be a good landing spot for him, and honestly, this would work for Atlanta too. CJ would fit really well there and he’d help them right the ship for a potential playoff run.
Trae is a lob master,he needs his new Capela.I think paired with Gobert or Ware we would see old good Trae
Alex Sarr would be his new Capela
Noooooooo
going to the wizards will be a death penalty on his career.. sad….. dude needs to go to a place like Miami, San Antonio, Memphis, etc etc.. teams with a rim protector and pick and pop partner
Wizards could flip him, too
A Trae/Hawks breakup is definitely better for both sides at this point. The Hawks have spent the last two years building a roster that Trae doesn’t really fit with. Trae needs a team that’s willing to make it his team, which he no longer is getting in Atlanta. Wouldn’t be surprised if it is a Wiz, Pels or Kings type team that’s willing he ends up with.
Can’t stress enough how completely stupid it would be if Atlanta are attaching draft compensation just to trade Trae. 100%, the wrong play.
I would LOVE to see Wolves go get Trae. Randle/Dillingham/Conley/Berginer for Trae.
ATL gets expiring contract with Randle and Conley, with two young assets to build around.
Wolves get a ball handler in his prime next to Edwards and maximizes this window for the team to come out of the West. Reid can slide into the PF spot vacated by Randle’s departure. If this fails, Trae can leave after his player option in 26/27 and they can acquire someone else.
Thought for sure a Trae for Ja trade was going to materialize.
Lets shake up the NBA with this Fanspo NBA Trade Machine Approved Trade: 3 Team Trade between Charlotte, Memphis and Atlanta.
Hawks Receive:
LaMelo Ball
Grant Williams
Brandon Clarke
Vince Williams Jr
Scotty Pippen Jr
2027 HORNETS FRP (HEAT)
Hornets Receive:
Ja Morant
Kristaps Porzingis
John Konchar
2030 GRIZZLES FRP (WIZ/SUNS Swap Rights)
Grizzles Receive:
Trae Young
Josh Green
Pat Connaughton
Mouhamed Gueye
Who says No?
that would be the biggest trade in NBA history lol
Grizzlies giving up a ton to get an offense only PG and a bunch of nothing. Definitely say no. Hawks agree to this trade without asking any questions, Hornets, I would lean towards a no. Ja comes with questions, obviously. Kristaps is a rental who might play 10-15 games the rest of the way. Konchar is a depth piece. I don’t think it’s awful, but I think the optics of it gets it denied. Doesn’t seem like a ton for their “face of the franchise”, even if it’s probably enough.
Appreciate the feedback, differ in perspective. Memphis Grizzles are stacked at the wing position with JJJ, Aldama, GG Jackson and Wells. Their biggest need is a floor general and health(which can be said about every NBA team lol). They can hide Trae’s defensive woes with their length and athleticism. Hornets have a blunder of issues but their biggest issues are not attacking the paint and interior defense . When they do attack the paint they have shot makers. Ja for inside attack, Porzingis for stretching the floor and interior defense.
Appreciate the response, RA.
I think that’s part of the issue for me with the Memphis end. They are stacked at wing and apart from Trae Young, almost their entire package in this trade scenario is wing players.Maybe they could flip them though? You’re right about them being able to protect Trae defensively. I think you’ve sold me on the Charlotte end. The cherry on top for Charlotte is that if Porzingis is a great fit, he definitely won’t command max salary this coming off-season in FA.
People don’t respond to my trade scenarios and I usually don’t like other people’s trade scenarios but this is a good one.
Diabate to Atlanta too* they need a tall C.
The Hornets get the best return
Good one
@Luke
Have you cooked up any good ones leading up to the deadline? Definitely enjoy seeing your trade scenarios on these boards as well.
Hope the wiz org has already learnt this lesson… stop getting damaged goods players… he is very small to the style of nba now.
Kings should get him but hey it’s the kings…
Makes zero sense for both teams
Atlanta get. Micheal Porter Jr and Nic Claxton, Issac Jones, Martin
Brooklyn get. Tobias Harris, Zaccharie Risacher, N’Faly Dante and good picks and cash from both teams
Detroit get. Porzingis and Kennard
McCollum and Bagley would fit okay on the Pistons
Atlanta fails if they trade Trae Young
Washington needs to tank one more year and probably get Wilson and a PG prospect in the up coming draft. Washington needs a PF prospect and maybe someone other than Bub.
Yes every team needs to meet a salary limit, Washington needs to sell McCollum, Bagley and Middleton to the highest bidder getting expiring contracts and picks.
Next year take LaVine’s 47M expiring contract and a 1st from the kings for a 2nd and spend it that way instead of this
Washington is one year away
Atlanta fails if they trade Young. You need to find his heir aparent prospect and a veteran, I said this earlier this season.
What’s the point in trading Young when you have put so much into him. Everyone gives up so fast. Guess the Luka, Trae Young and Bagley thing meant nothing in hindsight
If it’s nowhere right now I think the Hawks need to be patient while working on that chemistry because they have a lot of nice players