The Trae Young era in Atlanta is over, with the former All-Star reportedly moving to the Washington Wizards to start his career anew.
Going to Atlanta is CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, with no picks involved.
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Let’s try to approach this deal from both sides.
Atlanta Hawks
Look, the Hawks would obviously have preferred a major package centered around draft picks and young players, but that type of deal was never in the cards, with Young having a player option worth $49 million next season and his reputation as a winner being routinely questioned.
That doesn’t mean it’s addition by subtraction. Getting McCollum and Kispert is not a bad get, and the deal improves when you consider McCollum is an expiring contract, meaning the Hawks will replace Young’s $49 million next year with just $13.9 million through the Kispert contract.
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(If they re-sign McCollum, that number needs to be added, but he’s likely signing for a number that’s far below the $30.6 million he’s earning this year.)
Atlanta got much-needed financial flexibility in the deal and is now committed to building around Jalen Johnson, recognizing that Young was always going to hinder roster construction around its burgeoning 24-year-old star.
Atlanta now enters a new future, where defense, cohesive offense and togetherness should become the staple of a new tomorrow.
Grade: B+
Washington Wizards
Oh, boy. This can go in so many directions for the Wizards.
Young, who is used to having the offense run through him, could lean into his worst tendencies, hurting the development of Washington’s young core, chief among them Alexandre Sarr, Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson.
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Alternatively, Young could view this as a fresh start and an opportunity to redefine himself as a more team-oriented point guard who optimizes his own shot selection and makes an attempt at being better off the ball in order to share the wealth.
If the Wizards, somehow, persuade Young to decline his player option next season in order to sign an extension worth $35 million a year, this deal goes down much, much easier. That type of salary commitment would allow Washington to be a bigger player in free agency or swing larger trades during the summer.
We’ll see what they do from a contractual point of view, but it would be a bad idea to immediately offer Young an extension close to the value of his player option, as that would clog up Washington’s cap sheet.
Grade: Fluid B
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Overall thoughts
Young is good, and clearly the Wizards didn’t relinquish a lot to get him, which makes this a decent gamble. But Young was available for that price for a reason, and that’s why things are fluid in terms of grading the deal from their perspective.
We should all hope Young uses this trade as motivation to turn his game into something that better develops and helps the players around him. The pull-up 3-pointers from the logo need to go away and more off-ball shots should be prioritized for the betterment of the team.
If nothing else, this will be enormously interesting to track.
