The Washington Wizards have agreed to acquire Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. No future draft compensation will be exchanged between the Wizards and Hawks as part of the trade.
Young’s agents, Aaron Mintz, Rayford Young, Austin Brown and Drew Morrison alongside general manager Onsi Saleh of the Hawks have been working on a trade to end his tenure with the franchise over the past few days. Young has a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season and becomes Washington’s anchor as they look for their young core to take their next step. The Hawks elected not to offer Young a contract extension in the offseason, which precipitated his eventual trade.
Young is currently the 10th highest paid point guard in the NBA based on annual average value and is not expected to command a max contract on his next deal.
Young has played in only 10 games this season and is averaging just 19.3 points and 8.9 assists in 28.0 minutes as Jalen Johnson has become the focal point of the franchise.
“Trae Young wanted to be a Washington Wizard,” said Shams Charania.
The Hawks create significant financial flexibility with the trade of Young as McCollum is on a $30.7 million expiring contract. Atlanta could pursue a player on a large salary over the coming months with Anthony Davis of the Dallas Mavericks considered a prime in-season trade target.
Kispert signed a four-year, $54 million contract extension with the Wizards in October 2024 and is signed through the 2028-29 season. Kispert has appeared in 19 games this season, averaging 9.2 points on 39.5 percent three-point shooting in 19.5 minutes.