BREAKING: The Atlanta Hawks are trading four-time NBA All-Star Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/WIf8rhrRFu
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 8, 2026
Washington Wizards receive:
- PG Trae Young
Atlanta Hawks receive:
- SG CJ McCollum
- SF Corey Kispert
Washington Wizards Grade: A-
Without giving up any draft capital, I, too, would rather have Trae Young than CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
Trae Young and Alex Sarr are my new favorite NBA Jam team.
Trae walks into the building, instantly repairing the biggest flaw in Sarr’s game: consistency.
Here are Alex Sarr’s points in his last 5 games:
- 15 points vs. The Sixers
- 23 points vs. The Magic
- 7 points vs. The Timberwolves
- 19 points vs. The Nets
- 20 points vs. The Bucks
Guys like James Harden, Luka Doncic, Trae Young, don’t like finishing at the rim; instead, getting into the paint with the sole purpose of looking for a big man to finish for them.
Alex Sarr scoring single digits once a week is over.
He’ll get 10 points a night from Trae trickle down.
Plus, pairing Sarr with an All-Star just makes Washington games more competitive, Sarr learning and growing in closer games. (The Wizards are 29th in point differential, getting blown out of the gym most nights.)
If Alex Sarr is going to become what I believe he’s capable of, 20 points, 10 rebounds and a block a night, Trae Young running the offense unlocks more for Sarr than CJ McCollum.
Going forward, next season, Trae Young will be the only player on the Hawks cap sheet not on their rookie contract.
Acquiring Trae, and even signing him to an extension he probably doesn’t deserve, does not limit Washington’s ability to add more complimentary talent in the offseason.
The only thing making this an A- instead of an A or A+ is Trae Young.
He’s really fucking small, man.
Atlanta Hawks Grade: C
Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks were in a loveless marriage for at least a year now. With Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball floating in trade rumors, Trae was the least valuable of the point guards, proven by the return of CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
In the short term, nothing changes for Atlanta. At 18-21, these new additions don’t save the Hawks from play-in tournament hell.
In the long term, I’m seeing reports Atlanta is looking to trade Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard (and probably Zaccharie Risacher) to Dallas for Anthony Davis.
So basically, Atlanta is trading Trae Young, Kristaps Porzingis, Zaccharie Risacher and Luke Kennard (maybe even a first-round pick too) for Anthony Davis and Corey Kispert.
Atlanta is just doing the Dallas Mavericks thing last season, expecting to end up with next year’s Cooper Flagg, but like, the Dallas Mavericks suck.
The Hawks are following the team-building process of a GM who was fired before Thanksgiving.
But this is still a C+.
Not too bad.
Removing Trae Young from the building, his face from the promotional material, and reinvesting in Jalen Johnson is the correct move, regardless of the return haul.
Addition by subtraction.
Congrats to the Atlanta Mavericks.
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