At long last, the trigger on the Trae Young deal has been pulled.
As reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday night, the Hawks are trading Young to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. This development comes after weeks of speculation regarding Young’s future in Atlanta; just days prior, Charania had reported that Young and his agents were working with the Hawks front office to make a deal happen.
So, how does Trae Young fit in as he joins just the second NBA team of his eight-year career?
Essentially, Young takes McCollum’s place in the starting lineup. For the past four games, the Wizards have started four wings (McCollum, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson, and Khris Middleton) next to big man Alex Sarr. The arrival of Young now gives Washington a top-tier court general that can facilitate the offense while also getting buckets on the regular.
Now, the Wizards’ depth chart has Trae Young and Bub Carrington sharing minutes at point guard. Coulibaly, Johnson, and Jamir Watkins shore up the shooting guard position, while Middleton, Kyshawn George, and Justin Champagnie are available to play small forward.
Middleton can continue to start at the four position as Sarr, Marvin Bagley, and Tristan Vukevic get steady minutes in Washington’s frontline. Though the Wizards (10-26) have so much ground to cover in order to claw their way out of the Eastern Conference’s cellar, partnering Young with up-and-coming talents like Sarr and George (as well as one-time NBA champion Middleton) could yield positive outcomes sooner rather than later.
Viral Clip Shows Trae Young Interacting With Fans After News of Blockbuster Trade to Wizards
One of the last images that Atlanta fans will have of their former franchise player is a calm march towards the locker room.
This was the scene that unfolded in a viral clip from Wednesday night. In the clip, Young high-fives fans as he walks towards the tunnel of the State Farm Arena.
News of the Trae Young trade was broken as he was sitting on the Hawks bench. He had sat out the Hawks’ matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans that night, and after shaking hands with his teammates, he dapped up some fans on his way back to the locker room.
