Trae Young was traded to the Wizards!

The information was made official by Shems Charania at the end of the match between the Sixers and the Wizards and even before the end of the match that Atlanta won against the Pelicans: Trae Young joined the Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

It’s become apparent since he injured his knee in late October, these Hawks have found a way to play and perform at their highest level without the help of their All-Star point guard. His return did not allow Quin Snyder’s training to improve further, on the contrary, Atlanta lost their five games when he returned since mid-December!

As announced since the beginning of the week, the latter was therefore sent to Washingtonwhich he targeted as his priority destination. Atlanta was not picky, agreeing to the request of the man who had been its leader for more than seven seasons, recovering only CJ McCollum (34 years old), whose contract expires at the end of the season, and wing Corey Kispert. No round of the draft is a deal breaker, contrary to what one might imagine.

The leader was returned to the injured list at the end of 2025, officially for quadriceps treatment, and the first rumors about a possible departure did not last long, and they finally materialized last night.

Washington, DC, Choice for the Future

The choice to make Washington a priority on Tree Young’s side may come as a surprise, as the Wizards are still a long way from making the playoffs, much less being in contention for a title. But in terms of potential, especially with the presence of Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr and other young talents like the trio of Carrington-Johnson-George, there is enough to build a competitive team for the future. It will be up to him to allow this group to take this step by helping DC leave the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

For Tree Young, the rest of the season will not be without challenges, as he will have to work hard if he wants to negotiate a better contract for the rest of his career. He also has the option to activate a $48.9 million “player option” for the 2026-2027 season to delay his time at the negotiating table for one year. For that, he will have to quickly find his best level to show that we can count on him in the long term.

For Atlanta, which has developed other assets in Tree Young’s absence, the arrival of CJ McCollum guarantees the presence of another point guard on the team to oversee a group that has no shortage of talent. The arrival of Corey Kispert seems like a bonus on a team where Whit Krejci and Luke Kennard already show a similar profile behind anchors Nickell Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson on the wings.

“I loved my time in DC”slipped CJ McCollum after learning of his departure to Atlanta. “The franchise has been great for my family and me. Michael Winger and Will Dawkins have done everything they said and kept their word from the beginning. I love the city and the franchise is doing things the right way here. I’m excited to join Atlanta and get to work. I’m very familiar with their style of play. I like the management and the front office, and there’s a good group of players.”

In any case, there is a big page turning in Atlanta and Tree Young, who managed to take this Hawks team to the conference finals in 2021, but were not able to confirm it later, connecting the disappointing seasons that ultimately led to this premature divorce. For now, he remains the leading 3-point shooter (1,295) and leading passer in Georgia franchise history (4,837)!

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.