This was a win-win trade.
How big those wins are hinges on a lot of yet-to-be-determined factors — Can Atlanta use their newfound financial flexibility to land Anthony Davis or another star this offseason? Can Trae Young stay healthy and fill the role of veteran leader and mentor a young team needs? — but this is a trade that made sense for pretty much everyone involved. There aren’t many losers in this deal.
Let’s break down the winners and losers in this deal. We’ll start by laying out the trade.
Washington receives: Trae Young
Atlanta receives: CJ McCollum, Corey Kispert
Note: There are no picks involved in this trade. While the players involved in this deal were agreed to relatively quickly, league sources told NBC Sports that part of the holdup in finalizing the trade was that both sides believed they should receive draft-pick compensation. Atlanta thought they deserved it because they were giving up the best player in the deal, an All-Star level point guard (when healthy) in his prime. Washington thought they deserved picks back for taking on the extra year (a $48.9 million player option Young is expected to pick up) of a contract that Atlanta wanted to dump. Ultimately, the sides agreed to make the trade without picks.
Winner: Washington Wizards
Washington is a winner here, not simply because they get a four-time All-Star and elite offensive player to organize and lead their young core — it’s that they got him for basically nothing. McCollum is on an expiring contract and is not part of Washington’s future. While Kispert is a quality, sharpshooting wing rotation player, he’s not part of their core.
It’s easy to envision how a healthy Young can elevate a young Wizards core: Alex Sarr will benefit from pick-and-rolls with Young (plus Young can throw a post entry pass, something the current Wizards struggle with), Tre Johnson is going to get plays run for him off ball where he can find more space and Young will find him, Kyshawn George has ball handling help, and on down the line. Young has not been healthy this season, a knee issue limiting him to 10 games (and clearly affecting his shot, 30.5% from 3 this season), but the potential is there.
THE CAVEAT: Washington is only a winner if they hold off on extending Trae Young. Part of what Young’s agents were looking for in a landing spot was a team willing to talk extension, but Washington needs to see how Young fits with their young stars, then see who they get in this draft. They need to wait until the summer of 2027 to make this call. If Young fits beautifully and this all works out, they can extend or re-sign him (not at the max, more like below $40 million a season), but if not, the Wizards need to be ready to stick with their young guys and move on.
Loser: Washington Wizards’ defense
Washington has the 29th-ranked defense in the NBA this season. Trae Young is a minus defender (to put it kindly). Washington is going to be a lot more fun to watch with Young running the show, but they are not going to stop anyone. Expect a lot of entertaining shootouts with these Wizards.
Winner: Atlanta Hawks
It was time to move on.
That’s why this is a win for Atlanta. It’s a needed pivot to a young, long, athletic, fluid core of a team that really is the future. Jalen Johnson should be an All-Star this season, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is having a breakout season and is a high-level two-way 2-guard, plus they have Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Onyeka Okongwu and more. On top of all that, they have the Pelicans’ first-round pick in this June’s draft (a pick that could very well be in the top five). Atlanta is 15-13 in games Young has missed this season, with a -0.4 net rating — they are basically a .500 team. That’s better than they were with him (2-8), and the scoring punch of McCollum (18.8 points a game this season) and the floor-spacing shooting of Kispert (on a good contract) will fit right in with that.
This trade also gives the Hawks financial flexibility. They can use that flexibility to trade for Dallas’ Anthony Davis — the Hawks reportedly have been his most aggressive suitor — or they could wait until this offseason and see if they could add a star player more on the timeline of their young core (rather than a 32-year-old with an injury history). Whatever they choose, with CJ McCollum and Kristaps Porzingis coming off the books, Atlanta will have at least $32 million in cap space to reshape their roster next offseason. All that money makes it easier to turn the page.
Some online are suggesting the Hawks are losers in the trade for not getting draft assets from Washington in the deal. Nope. Welcome to the new NBA, everyone — this was all about the money in a tax apron era. A key reason there was a very limited market for Young was his salary, a max now worth 30% of the salary cap, something teams did not want to take on considering Young’s defense and team-building limitations. In the apron era, teams cannot miss on max contracts. Washington agreed to take on an extra year of that salary (Young’s $48.9 million player extension for next season, which he is expected to pick up) and felt they should have been the team getting picks for taking on all that money. Some other teams that had conversations with the Hawks expected Atlanta to add picks as sweeteners, sources told NBC Sports. Atlanta may have entered trade talks hoping to get picks in the deal, but that’s some dated thinking it quickly learned wasn’t part of the modern marketplace.
Winner: Wizards fans
Washington has been a tough watch for a couple of years. While they have good young players like Sarr and Johnson, this team has lacked a player more casual fans could rally behind. They needed someone to sell tickets.
Trae Young sells tickets. Trae Young excites fans. Young running the Wizards offense with all that athleticism around him is going to be highly entertaining — and Wizards fans will take that.
Washington has given its fan base someone to root for and buy tickets to see. That matters.
Maybe-winner: New York Knicks
Washington owes its 2026 first-round pick to the New York Knicks, but it is top-eight protected. Before Wednesday night, that seemed irrelevant. The young Wizards were learning on the job and were destined to be near the top of the lottery (they would be fourth entering the lottery at the time of the trade).
With an energized Trae Young running the show, could the Wizards get on a heater and start to climb up the East standings, maybe make the play-in, and end up turning over their pick to the Knicks?
Probably not. Young has been battling knee issues all season, and Washington will use that if needed. Even if Young does start playing games for them soon, don’t be shocked if the Wizards shut him down with an injury while there is still plenty of time left in the season — Washington needs more elite talent on the roster, and this draft is the best way for them to get it. Save the test run with Young for next season.
Still, Knicks fans can dream.
