Grading Blockbuster Trae Young Trade Between Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards

Trae Young is now a member of the Washington Wizards.

As first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, the Atlanta Hawks are sending their four-time All-Star to the nation's capital in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. To answer the question you undoubtedly have: No, there aren't any draft picks exchanging hands. And yes, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti is ashamed of everyone involved as a result.

The move ends what has been a long, drawn-out, seemingly inevitable divorce between Young and Atlanta. It also marks the most aggressive move yet for the Wizards' current front office regime.

How did each team fare in the NBA's first blockbuster deal of the season? Our red pens are dusted off and ready to dole out some fresh grades.

Atlanta Hawks: C+

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Turning a 27-year-old four-time All-Star who's averaging around 25 points and 10 assists for his career into a 34-year-old CJ McCollum on an expiring contract and Corey Kispert doesn't exactly scream "Home run!" And look, let's face facts: It's not.

Atlanta kept Trae Young well past the pinnacle of his value. This unspectacular return is the end result. Yet, moving him became necessary. He has a $49 million player option for next season, which would have made it difficult for them to re-sign Kristaps Porziņģis or upgrade the center position and stay out of the luxury tax.

The Era of Aprons has also changed the way teams compensate stars. Committing 30-plus percent of the salary cap to deeply flawed big names in the short or long term is no longer as navigable. Young's market value plummeted amid the shifting climate.

To that end, the Hawks did well to officially hand the keys of the organization over to Jalen Johnson while increasing their big-picture wiggle room.

McCollum is as plug-and-play as it gets on the offensive end for a 2-guard and provides enough secondary facilitation to help Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels paper over the departure of the team's only conventional floor general. Kispert arms the offense with another constant-motion weapon who promises better finishing and defense than Luke Kennard.

Clearing Young's player option from the ledger positions the Hawks for more than $25 million in cap space next summer. Even if they don't parlay that flexibility into a big-time swing, they'll have no trouble re-signing KP or seeking a glitzier alternative without overloading its books.

Though Charania notes Atlanta could remain in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, this return renders that pursuit harder in advance of the deadline. Neither McCollum nor Kispert can be aggregated alongside other players, and Atlanta still doesn't have the breathing room beneath the luxury tax to acquire Davis without giving up Zaccharie Risacher. This is all to say, the team's next big splash will likely wait until the summer.

Immediately, it'll be interesting to see how the Hawks look now that they've fully reoriented around Johnson. Their offense has remained much better this season with Young on the floor. The Jalen-without-Trae minutes have seen Atlanta post a league-average offensive rating and slightly outscore opponents.

The bet here is the overall product gets much better subbing in complementary weapons like McCollum and Kispert. It's a reasonable gamble to make, particularly under the circumstances, but a gamble all the same.

Washington Wizards: B+

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Acquiring a floor general was the top priority on the Wizards' trade-deadline to-do list. Even so, going after an expensive player with plenty of on-court baggage doesn't quite align with the vision of a team that, despite its recent friskiness, remains more focused on amassing pingpong balls than Ws.

Timeline concerns have always been overrated. Young's fit in Washington is murky only because of what he'll cost to retain, and more importantly, the downstream effect it'll have on the team's most critical developmental projects.

The Wizards don't have to fret their new point guard's price moving forward as much as other teams. They aren't on the verge of shelling out any mega extensions (sorry, Bilal Coulibaly) and still project to have north of $45 million in cap space this summer. 

Young's impact on the developmental environment is much more complicated. On the one hand, Washington can use someone to tee up looks for everyone else. Young has thrown more assists at the rim since entering the NBA than anyone else, and he trails only Luka Dončić in corner-three dimes during this span, according to PBP Stats. It's easy to imagine him developing a lethal chemistry with Alex Sarr.

Washington will nevertheless need him to set more screens and generally play off the ball more than ever if it wants to maximize guys like Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington. All of them can work off another ball-dominant player. George and Johnson, in particular, have also delivered enough flashes to guarantee their own hefty doses of on-ball volume.

Effectively juggling this duality is now head coach Brian Keefe's most important job. And that's before even considering how to insulate Young at the defensive end. Sarr, Coulibaly, George and Justin Champagnie give the Wizards plenty of size and utility at the less-glamorous end. Time will tell whether it's enough to tread water when rolling out a backcourt featuring Young and Johnson.

Young's next contract, assuming he signs one, will play a huge role in shaping the Wizards' success or failure here, too. If he declines his player option and re-signs for a lower annual rate, he becomes more valuable to Washington as both a player and asset. 

Anyone who's turned off or imbued with a sense of unease following this deal is well within the boundaries of a rational reaction. Ultimately, this Wizards front office regime deserves the benefit of the doubt for everything they've already done. 

For the time being, it's best to treat this move by the Wiz as incidental opportunism rather than an attempt to short-circuit and accelerate the rebuild. Viewed through that lens, it remains risky, but also totally understandable.

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Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.