Trae Young Traded to the Wizards: Maybe The Most Useless All-Star Trade in Recent NBA History

The Atlanta Hawks just traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in a package for C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert, and I’ve got to say. And moments removed from the deal going down, I genuinely think this is the most useless and non–league-changing All-Star calibre player trade in recent NBA history involving a player that we've seen take a team on a deep playoff run.

From the Hawks’ perspective, I get it because it's clear they want to build around Jalen Johnson, and Young no longer fits with their roster. Not to mention, they’ve actually been better without Young in the lineup this season because of his ball dominance and his lack of defense. But when you look at what they got back, it’s pretty underwhelming.

C.J. McCollum is obviously not the player he once was. He can still shoot, and I guess you can say he brings a good veteran presence to the team. But if the goal was to get better defensively, C.J. McCollum is not the answer at all. Corey Kispert is another solid role player, but that’s really it.

I don’t really think this changes the Hawks’ destiny that much. This isn’t some move that suddenly pushes them into a new tier in the Eastern Conference. If anything, it feels like a placeholder move. Maybe they can flip McCollum for another piece before the trade deadline, and that’s honestly what I think is probably going to happen.

What makes this even stranger is that the Hawks didn’t even get a draft pick in this trade. That’s weird for a player of Trae Young’s calibre, even with his flaws.

As for Trae Young going to Washington, it’s kind of perfect for him in a strange way. Nobody is really watching the Wizards anyway, and there’s still no path to the playoffs with Trae Young there. He probably just needed a fresh start somewhere he can play how he wants to play without the constant pressure.

For the Wizards, I guess this at least helps them sell tickets, because they’ve been a laughingstock for the last five years. Alex Sarr is good, Kyshawn George is solid, and maybe this help a guy like Tre Johnson develop. But let’s be real, this doesn’t suddenly make Washington relevant out East.

Young wanted out of Atlanta, and the Hawks clearly wanted to move on from him, so in that sense, the trade makes some basic sense. Still, I’m somewhat surprised the Hawks couldn’t get more in return. At the same time, I’m not totally shocked.

Young doesn’t really help many contenders, and a lot of contenders can’t make big trades right now anyway. That combination limits his market a lot more than people want to admit.

At the end of the day, this trade just feels like movement for the sake of movement. It doesn’t significantly improve the Hawks, it doesn’t make the Wizards a threat, and it doesn’t change the landscape of the league in any meaningful way.

In my opinion, this is the most useless move in recent NBA history involving an All-Star calibre player.