The much buzzed-about Trae Young trade finally happened on Wednesday night, and as expected, it was the Washington Wizards who ended up with the star guard.
It’s the end of an era of sorts for the Atlanta Hawks, who made the 2018 NBA Draft night trade of Luka Doncic (oops) for Young. The guard has shown scoring prowess and dishing abilities over the years, including his huge 2021-22 season. But ultimately, it just wasn’t working out.
Now, he gets a new start with a rebuilding Wizards team. Who won this deal? Let’s hand out some trade grades, as we usually do.
Hawks and Wizards trade details
Hawks get: G CJ McCollum and F Corey Kispert
Wizards get: G Trae Young
Hawks trade grade
This just felt like a divorce waiting to happen. Young isn’t the player he was when the Hawks made a wild Eastern Conference Finals run in 2021. So the Hawks decided they’d rather deal for McCollum’s expiring deal and a former first-rounder in Kispert who has some shooting ability. And maybe those two are a better fit for the Hawks’ style at the moment, helping them get into the play-in in the East or beyond.
It’s a sign that they’re now building around Jalen Johnson and his all-around skill set, with Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher with him. The return isn’t great, but what did you expect when Young is owed nearly $46 million this season and has a nearly $49 million player option next year? GRADE: B
Wizards trade grades
This makes a whole ton of sense. The Wizards have a decent rebuild going on with Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson in house. Might as well move two players who aren’t a part of that and see if getting a scorer needing a change of scenery works.
If it doesn’t work out? Then Young is on an expiring deal next year if he exercises his option. A smart move with little to no downside. GRADE: A-
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Trae Young trade grades for Hawks – Wizards deal