How will the reported Trae Young trade impact the Wizards and Hawks?
After trade winds began blowing heavy entering 2026, the Hawks and Wizards have rung in the new year with a major deal.
Trae Young will be heading to Washington, while CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert are on the move to Atlanta. Both teams announced the trade on Friday.
Additionally, the Wizards announced that Young will miss tonight’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans (7 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass) because of a right quad contusion and a right knee MCL sprain.
Atlanta receives:
- G CJ McCollum
- F Corey Kispert
Washington receives:
- G Trae Young
Shoutout from @TheTraeYoung to y'all, D.C. fam 🎤 pic.twitter.com/APMhCALcBz
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 9, 2026
📍 D.C. 🏛️#ForTheDistrict | @TheTraeYoung pic.twitter.com/NjfZNSV1L9
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 9, 2026
We have acquired Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Trae Young.
More ⬇️https://t.co/4xKEjJVwtz
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 9, 2026
For embracing Atlanta as your home & an unforgettable era of Hawks basketball 🫶 pic.twitter.com/IavtfwuGpL
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 9, 2026
NBA reporter Marc Stein was first to disclose that teams were closing in on a deal, and ESPN first reported that the agreement was in place earlier this week.
The Wizards held McCollum and Kispert out of their 131-110 loss at Philadelphia on Wednesday night, and Young was on the bench in street clothes for Atlanta. He left the bench area in the fourth quarter, then returned and left again for the final time with about 30 seconds left — slapping hands with a few fans as he headed toward the locker room.
He leaves Atlanta as the Hawks’ career leader in assists (passing Doc Rivers) and 3-pointers (passing Mookie Blaylock). He’s fourth on Atlanta’s free throws list and sixth in points.
Hawks power forward Mouhamed Gueye said he didn’t know during Wednesday’s game that the trade news had gone public. He had nothing but high praise afterward for his time with Young.
“That’s T.Y. That’s Trae Young,” Gueye said. “When I first got here, he was one of the first guys that texted me, welcoming me to the city, gave me a lot of advice. Obviously, playing with Trae, as a big, is like a dream come true. I love him as a guy, I love him as a teammate. … An Atlanta legend.”
Young is 10th in points, 12th in points per game, first in assists and first in assists per game since entering the NBA as the No. 5 pick in the 2018 draft.
He is one of five players to rank in the top 10 in both points and assists since he entered the league; the others are the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Dončić, the LA Clippers’ James Harden and the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker.
Jokic has won a championship and is a three-time Kia MVP. Doncic is considered an MVP candidate, Harden is a member of the 75th anniversary team, and Booker is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Young doesn’t get the level of respect those players have earned. He’s a four-time All-Star — two of those nods coming through voting, two of them coming when Commissioner Adam Silver added him to the roster as an injury replacement.
But the Hawks, this season anyway, have been better without Young. Atlanta was 2-8 this season when Young played; the Hawks are 16-13 without him. Over his career, the Hawks won 49% of their games when Young wasn’t in the lineup — as opposed to 45% when he played.
He has a player option for about $49 million for next season and is eligible for a three-year extension with the Wizards.
McCollum averaged 18.8 points in 35 games with Washington this season and is a 19.6-point scorer for his career. The Hawks will become his fourth team; he also played for Portland and New Orleans.
Kispert has been a backup for the bulk of his five NBA seasons, all with Washington. He’s averaged 10.9 points for his career while shooting 38% from 3-point range.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
