Wizards Rumors: Young, Sarr, Carrington, Kispert
Although rival executives have been expecting new Wizards point guard Trae Young to exercise his $49MM player option for 2026/27, he has yet to make a decision on that option, according to David Aldridge, Sam Amick, and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who say the four-time All-Star is also open to discussing a contract extension with his new team or even opting out in favor of free agency this summer.
If Young did become a free agent, the Wizards would make a “full push” to sign him to a new contract, since they don’t want to lose him for nothing, per The Athletic’s trio. If he picks up his option, the team’s plan would be to talk to Young and his reps to see if he’s happy in Washington, then decide on the next steps from there. An extension, another trade, or Young playing out the final year of his contract would all be options in that scenario.
The Wizards want to assess how several members of their young core – including Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, and Tre Johnson – respond to playing alongside Young, since that will be a key factor in determining whether the 27-year-old fits on their roster long-term, according to The Athletic’s report. However, it’s unclear how often that will happen in the next few months.
As Aldridge, Amick, and Robbins note, Young has appeared in just 10 games this season due to various injuries – most recently a quad issue – and the team isn’t in a hurry to rush him back. Pointing out that the Wizards have little incentive to win this season because their 2026 first-round pick is top-eight protected, The Athletic’s reporters suggest it’s possible Young will play a “limited number” of games the rest of the way, with the team more focused on his impact in 2026/27 (and potentially beyond).
If the Wizards go that route, it would be similar to what the Raptors did with Brandon Ingram last season. Toronto traded for the forward at the trade deadline and signed him to a contract extension, but with the club in tank mode down the stretch and Ingram still recovering from an ankle injury, he didn’t play until this fall.
Here’s more out of D.C.:
- The Wizards believe they have the sort of defensive personnel that can help make up for Young’s shortcomings on that end of the floor, per Aldridge, Amick, and Robbins, including rim protector Alex Sarr and wing stopper Bilal Coulibaly. The team is also optimistic about the way in which Young may be able to unlock the offensive potential of many of its young players, giving Sarr a pick-and-roll partner and Johnson someone who will get him more open looks.
- While George, Coulibaly, and Carrington have all taken on ball-handling responsibilities this season, George and Coulibaly are forwards rather than point guards, and some members of the organization believe Carrington is better suited to playing off the ball, per The Athletic. That’s one reason why the front office was motivated to make a deal for a true point guard like Young.
- Corey Kispert was “highly regarded” within the Wizards’ organization for his professionalism, according to Aldridge, Amick, and Robbins, but he was viewed as expendable due to the club’s depth on the wing.
Southeast Notes: McCollum, Wizards, Magic, Powell, Herro
There has been a greater focus in the past 24 hours on what Trae Young will bring to his new team in Washington, but Rod Beard of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that CJ McCollum could be a valuable rest-of-season addition for the Hawks.
While Young has battled injuries and has been available for just 10 games so far this season, McCollum appeared in each of the Wizards’ first 35 contests and was off to a strong start for his new team, averaging 18.8 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per night, with a .454/.393/.804 shooting line.
Beard acknowledges that McCollum isn’t the play-maker that Young is, but observes that the 34-year-old should provide a little more resistance defensively than the longtime Hawk. McCollum has also historically been a more efficient scorer with a lower usage rate, which could make him a good fit alongside Atlanta’s current top scorers, Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
We have more from the Southeast:
- After a 1-15 start to the season, Washington has posted a more respectable 9-11 mark, including a recent stretch of five wins in seven games. According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, several Wizards believe a November 16 players-only meeting was a turning point in the team’s season. “We weren’t meeting that standard at the time,” big man Marvin Bagley III said. “I think that meeting was well-needed. I spoke up and said my piece, and guys in the locker room spoke up as well, and we had a good talk. I think we came out closer as a unit, and it makes us understand each other more and want to go out and compete for each other. You can see it.”
- Orlando will be making a bid to host the 2030 NBA All-Star Game, as Jason Siegel, the president and CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission announced on Thursday. Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required) has the story on the bid, which he says the Magic support.
- Speaking of the All-Star Game, Heat guard Norman Powell believes he “definitely” has a strong case to play in this year’s event, but he says he learned after last year’s snub not to get his hopes up, per Ira Winderman of The South Sun Sentinel (subscription required). “I want to make it. I think I deserve to make it,” said Powell, who is averaging a career-high 24.3 points per game on .490/.423/.861 shooting. “You know, my peers around the league after games and things like that are telling me that I’m an All-Star and that I should be there.”
- In his return from a toe injury on Tuesday, Heat guard Tyler Herro came off the bench for the first time since the 2023/24 season. Speaking after the game to reporters, including Winderman, Herro downplayed the subject, suggesting that it was “not really an adjustment” to be a reserve and that he was just grateful to be playing at all. “Just being out there was my biggest thing that I wanted to feel, and that’s how I felt,” he said. “I felt good. I’m healthy. So I just want to be available and be healthy.”
Trae Young Trade Notes: Possible Extension, Trade Bonus, TPE, More
Once the trade sending Trae Young to Washington is officially complete, the Wizards and their new starting point guard will be open to exploring a potential contract extension, but it won’t be “top of mind,” reports ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).
As Shelburne explains, both the Wizards and Young may take the opportunity to evaluate the situation and the fit before making a decision on their long-term future together. That process could extend to the 2026/27 season, since Young holds a $49MM player option that he could pick up if he doesn’t sign an extension and doesn’t want to test the free agent market.
If Young were to sign an extension with the Wizards in the coming months, it would require him to turn down his option and replace it with a new deal starting in ’26/27. An agreement between the two sides could tack on a maximum of three years to the current season.
If Young picks up his option in June, he would be eligible during the offseason to sign an extension that begins in ’27/28 and adds up to four new seasons to his option year.
Here’s much more on the first trade of the 2025/26 NBA season:
- Young’s contract includes a 15% trade kicker, and there has been no indication that he won’t receive his bonus as part of the trade. However, trade bonuses don’t apply to option years and can’t increase a player’s salary beyond his maximum for that year. Young currently has a $45,999,660 cap hit for this season and his maximum salary would be $46,394,100, so if he receives his full bonus, he’ll get a $394,440 bump.
- The Hawks are sending out more salary than they’re taking back in the deal and will generate a small traded player exception as a result. That exception will be worth $1,357,994.
- Having cleared Young’s salary from their books for next season, the Hawks are considered likely to remain in pursuit of Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Wednesday evening during an appearance on NBA Countdown (Twitter video link). As John Hollinger of The Athletic observes, CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert can’t have their salaries aggregated in a second trade prior to the February 5 deadline, so any Atlanta package for Davis ($54.1MM) would have to start with the expiring contracts of Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7MM) and Luke Kennard ($11MM), and it may have to include Zaccharie Risacher ($13.2MM) too.
- The Wizards will open up a roster spot once the trade is complete, and Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link) suggests it could be used to promote two-way player Tristan Vukcevic to a standard multiyear contract. Washington may wait on that until after the trade deadline, since Vukcevic won’t hit his 50-game limit for another month or so, and maintaining roster flexibility could help the team accommodate another deadline deal.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN thinks the trade could be a win-win for the Wizards and Hawks, giving both teams a grade of B for the deal. Zach Harper of The Athletic is far less bullish on the move from Atlanta’s perspective, assigning the Hawks a D-plus grade while giving Washington an A.
- McCollum told Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime (Twitter link) that he “loved” his brief time in D.C. but is looking forward to joining the Hawks. “(The Wizards’) organization was great to my family and I,” McCollum said. “(Executives) Michael Winger and Will (Dawkins) did everything they said they would and kept their word from the very beginning. Love the city and they’re doing things the right way over there. Excited to get to the A and get to work. Very familiar with their style of play. Love the ownership group and front office. Good group of players.”
Hawks Have Interest In Corey Kispert
The Hawks have interest in Wizards wing Corey Kispert, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that if the two teams make a trade involving Trae Young, Atlanta hopes to acquire Kispert in the deal.
Known as a sharpshooter, Kispert has been limited to 19 games so far this season due to thumb and hamstring injuries. When healthy, he has averaged 9.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 19.5 minutes per contest, with a .496/.395/.765 shooting line.
The Wizards are operating far below the luxury tax line and are in position to take on some salary in a trade, but in order to match Young’s $46MM cap hit, they would have to send out more than CJ McCollum and his $30.7MM expiring contract in order to make the trade legal. Washington could get there by including other expiring deals, starting with Malaki Branham and his $5MM salary, but Kispert ($14MM) would also do the trick.
Notably, Kispert is in the first season of a four-year, $54MM rookie scale extension that is fully guaranteed for two more seasons beyond this one, so if the Hawks were to acquire him in a deal for Young, it would cut into their cap flexibility going forward. Still, Atlanta would be adding a solid role player on the wing while still creating significant savings by removing Young’s $49MM player option for 2026/27 from its books.
Although Washington is said to be Young’s preferred landing spot, the Hawks still have four weeks to see if any other viable suitors emerge for the veteran point guard, so a deal between the two Southeast teams may not be imminent. The Wizards and Hawks would also need to figure out what the draft compensation would look like, which might not be simple.
Still, Stein says (via Twitter) that if the teams do eventually make a trade involving Young, the players going from Washington to Atlanta appear increasingly likely to be McCollum and Kispert.
Interestingly, Kispert has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia due to left hamstring injury management. Kispert has missed six of Washington’s past seven contests due to that hamstring issue, but wasn’t listed on today’s injury report at all until the 6:00 pm Eastern time update. McCollum will also miss his first game of the season tonight due to right quad soreness.
Wizards Reportedly Trae Young’s Preferred Landing Spot
The Wizards are the top team on Trae Young‘s list of preferred destinations, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who stated during an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link) that the Hawks have gained some traction in their trade talks with Washington.
NBA insider Marc Stein was the first to report earlier this week that the Wizards and Hawks had engaged in negotiations about a possible trade that would send Young to Washington and veteran guard CJ McCollum to Atlanta.
Subsequent reporting has suggested that the Hawks are willing to be patient as they gauge Young’s trade market and that the two Southeast rivals still have work to do to figure out what the rest of a deal would look like — Washington is reportedly seeking draft compensation from Atlanta and is said to be reluctant to part with the sort of young talent the Hawks would want along with McCollum.
While other teams are reportedly monitoring Young’s situation, the Wizards are the only club confirmed to be a viable suitor so far, so the fact that the 27-year-old would be on board with a move to D.C. bodes well for a potential deal.
Although Washington isn’t exactly a title contender, the rebuilding team has played better as of late, with five wins in its past seven games, and its young core could benefit from the addition of an elite play-maker like Young, despite concerns about his defense.
Additionally, the Wizards have no significant multiyear contracts on their cap, meaning they’re well positioned to accommodate Young’s $49MM player option for 2026/27 — or a potential contract extension that replaces that option, which is presumably the outcome the four-time All-Star and his camp are hoping for.
As Charania notes, Young also has a connection to Wizards senior vice president of player personnel Travis Schlenk, who drafted the former Oklahoma Sooners star when he was the general manager of the Hawks.
Young is currently on the shelf due to a right quad contusion and will miss a sixth consecutive game on Wednesday when the Hawks host the Pelicans.
Trade Rumors: Trae, Dillingham, Wizards, Kuminga, Warriors
The Wizards have been monitoring Trae Young‘s situation in Atlanta since the Hawks opted against extending him during the offseason and have engaged in “serious” discussions about a potential trade, confirms Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, Atlanta isn’t rushing into an agreement, since the front office wants to wait to see if other suitors emerge in the weeks leading up to the February 5 trade deadline.
So far, Fischer writes, it’s unclear whether any other teams have joined Washington in actively exploring a deal for Young. Fischer hears that the point guard’s camp has suggested the Timberwolves and Nets as two potential trade partners that would appeal to Young, but neither of those teams has reciprocated that interest to this point.
The Wolves, in fact, are unlikely to pursue any high-priced point guard, Fischer writes, explaining that Minnesota wants to upgrade the position but is more focused on players with more manageable cap hits.
Fischer points to Mike Conley‘s $10.8MM expiring deal and Rob Dillingham‘s rookie scale deal (which pays him $6.8MM this season) as contracts that the Wolves could use for matching purposes in that sort of trade, noting that they aren’t opposed to discussing Dillingham, who hasn’t yet developed into a reliable rotation player.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- If the Wizards and Hawks do make a trade involving Young, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the 27-year-old and his new team agree to a contract extension that replaces his $49MM player option for 2026/27 with a lower cap hit and tacks on at least a couple new years to his deal, Fischer writes. League insiders that Fischer spoke to about that subject suggested the extension offer would likely have to be worth $100MM+ to convince Young to decline that $49MM option.
- Ben Golliver of The Washington Post lays out the cases for and against a Wizards trade for Young.
- The Warriors have had many trade conversations about forward Jonathan Kuminga, but have yet to make “substantial movement” toward a deal, league sources tell Anthony Slater of ESPN. Team sources have said recently that Golden State would be willing to hang onto the 23-year-old beyond the trade deadline if no appealing offers materialize, according to Slater, though he notes that may be posturing. The Warriors have also been unwilling to take on contracts that extend beyond the current season if they consider them to have negative value, Slater adds.
- League sources tell Slater that the Warriors have “sniffed around” the center market. If Al Horford – who has played better since Christmas than he did earlier in the season – stays healthy and continues to improve, the front office may feel less inclined to target a big man at the trade deadline, Slater notes.
- Sam Quinn of CBS Sports takes a look at the teams currently operating in luxury tax territory and considers which ones are the best bets to try to duck below the tax line at the trade deadline — and which players could be on the move in those types of trades.
Trae Young Rumors: Wizards, Nets, Rockets, Wolves
While Washington looks like the “clear favorite” for Trae Young at this juncture, no trade agreement between the Hawks and Wizards is imminent, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who suggests Atlanta will continue to explore other trade scenarios involving the four-time All-Star guard in the coming weeks. The Hawks’ talks involving Young have been “minimal” so far, Siegel adds.
As ESPN first reported on Monday, the Hawks and Young are working together in the hopes of finding a trade partner. Ideally, Siegel writes, that trade partner would be willing to sign Young to a contract extension after acquiring him, though it’s unclear if the Wizards would be on board with that plan.
Exploring the possibility of a deal between Atlanta and Washington, Josh Robbins of The Athletic speculates that Wizards officials may view a hypothetical Young acquisition as a “one-year trial.” In that scenario, Young would presumably exercise his $49MM player option for the 2026/27 season, which Siegel notes is the most probable outcome if he’s not extended before then. An in-season extension would require Young to turn down that option.
As for what a trade agreement between the Hawks and Wizards might look like, Siegel says Washington is seeking draft compensation in addition to Young, while Atlanta would like to add young talent alongside CJ McCollum and his expiring $30.6MM contract. Siegel speculates that the Hawks are likely asking about players like Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, and Tre Johnson, though he cautions that the Wizards have signaled they don’t want to part with their top young talent in a deal for Young.
Exploring next steps for the Hawks and Young, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) wonders if there’s a way for both Atlanta and Washington to get what they want out of a deal. For instance, Gozlan suggests the Wizards could include a useful role player like Corey Kispert along with McCollum, while the Hawks could perhaps offer a first-round pick swap.
Here’s more on Young:
- ESPN’s Tim Bontemps examines why the trade market for Young is limited, while in the same article, Kevin Pelton and Zach Kram pose four hypothetical trade offers for the Hawks guard. Bobby Marks’ favorite of the four proposals for Atlanta is one that would send McCollum, Malaki Branham, AJ Johnson, and Oklahoma City’s 2026 first-round pick to the Hawks for Young and a future second-rounder. However, Marks isn’t sure whether the Wizards would make that offer, pointing out that they may want more draft compensation from Atlanta for taking on Young’s potential $49MM salary for next season.
- While the Nets and Rockets have been connected to Young in the past, they don’t have interest in pursuing him at this time, Siegel writes for ClutchPoints. Sam Amick of The Athletic said the same of Sacramento on Monday.
- Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) views the Timberwolves as an unlikely suitor for Young. As aggressive as Tim Connelly is on the trade market, Young’s $46MM cap hit for this season and $49MM option for next season would make it difficult for the Wolves to put together a package they’re comfortable with — and to accommodate Young on their cap going forward.
Trade Rumors: Young, LaVine, Brooks, Deadline, AD, More
Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have confirmed Shams Charania’s report that the Hawks are working with Trae Young and his representatives to find the 27-year-old point guard a new team.
As Amick reported last week, Atlanta has been increasingly willing to discuss Young trades for weeks or even months after the Hawks showed no interest in pursuing an extension, but the market for the four-time All-Star seems to be limited. According to Amick and Robbins, Young is searching for a new deal “commensurate with a star player.”
To illustrate the point about teams being wary of acquiring the diminutive point guard, Amick and Robbins cite a team source who says the Kings — long viewed as a potential landing spot for last season’s assists leader — have “no interest” in trading for Young. Zach LaVine, whose contract is very similar to Young’s, is “known” to have interest in joining the Hawks, the authors add.
Regarding Marc Stein’s report about the Hawks discussing a trade that would potentially send Young to Washington and CJ McCollum to Atlanta, Amick and Robbins note that Young doesn’t fit the archetype favored by the Wizards‘ top front office executives, and speculate that Washington might want either draft compensation or a young player to take on his contract, which includes a $49MM player option for next season.
Young missed his fifth straight game Monday due to a right quad contusion.
Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:
- Don’t expect Suns small forward Dillon Brooks to be on the move in the next month. Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark reported (via Twitter) on Monday that Phoenix isn’t interested in moving the veteran wing due to both his on- and off-court contributions. Suns owner Mat Ishbia essentially confirmed as much just a few minutes later. On FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link), former NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins said he if were running the Lakers, he would trade Austin Reaves for Brooks “in a heartbeat.” Ishbia’s response? “Don’t bother calling… Suns aren’t interested. Dillon’s not going anywhere,” he wrote (Twitter link).
- Amick, Josh Robbins and John Hollinger of The Athletic discuss the biggest storylines and questions ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, noting that Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s situation with the Bucks is the one that holds the most intrigue around the league. All three think Antetokounmpo is more likely than not to stay put during the season, though that would depend on whether the two-time MVP requests a trade. Other topics include whether Anthony Davis will be traded by the Mavericks and role players who could appeal to contending teams. Hollinger lists Wizards forward Justin Champagnie as an example of a player on a team-friendly contract who could be a valuable in-season addition.
- Speaking of Davis, he and Kyrie Irving wanted to play together for years before it finally came to fruition last February, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. However, the Mavericks duo only played two-and-a-half quarters together prior to Davis suffering a left adductor strain. Less than a month later, Irving tore his ACL, and there’s no timeline for his return. Whether they’ll be able to team up again before the season ends is an open question with Dallas expected to listen to offers for Davis, Clark adds.
Hawks, Wizards Discuss Trade Involving Trae Young, CJ McCollum
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).
Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel Named December’s Rookies Of The Month
For a second consecutive month, former Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (Twitter link).
Flagg, this year’s No. 1 overall pick, averaged 23.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.0 steal in 35.5 minutes per game in 13 outings this past month for the Mavericks, making 51.6% of his shots from the floor and 80.8% from the free throw line.
While Dallas still hasn’t looked like a playoff team – the Mavs went 6-7 in December – Flagg is showing why he was the consensus top prospect in the 2025 draft class and is considered one of the best rookies to enter the NBA in the past decade. He’s the NBA’s youngest player, having turned 19 on December 21.
Although Flagg has taken over as the betting favorite in the Rookie of the Year race, that’s through no fault of Knueppel, who showed no signs of slowing down after his hot start to the season. In 12 games in December, the Hornets sharpshooter averaged 20.8 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 4.2 APG, with an outstanding .500/.462/.903 shooting line.
Only Donovan Mitchell and Stephen Curry have made more three-pointers so far this season than Knueppel, who knocked down 4.0 per game in December and now has 117 on the season.
Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward, Spurs guard Dylan Harper, Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard, Pelicans big man Derik Queen, and Kings center Maxime Raynaud were also nominated for the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award, while Nets guard Egor Demin, Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe, and Wizards guard Tre Johnson were nominated in the East (Twitter link).