Why Trae Young is a positive addition to the Wizards

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Washington Wizards have acquired Trae Young in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. 

Young and the Atlanta Hawks had been working together to find a trade to send the four-time All-Star away from the only team he's ever played for. At a glance, the Wizards don't seem like the ideal destination for the 27-year-old, who has excelled in the playoffs (26.4 PPG), but they do offer two crucial elements for a Young deal.

Trae Young's large salary made trades complicated

Several playoff teams could use the kind of backcourt upgrade that Young would provide. Most of them aren't equipped to match Young's $46M salary in trades. But for many contenders, assembling a trade would have been nearly impossible.

But the Wizards were able to include McCollum, who is making $30.7M. Not only is McCollum's deal expiring, providing salary relief for the Hawks to make other additions, but he's good enough offensively to help Atlanta win this year.

Plus, trading McCollum clears the point guard position for a Wizards team that's full of young talent everywhere but the one.

Washington has a need for Trae Young

The Wizards have done a good job of acquiring draft picks and young players with potential in the post-Bradley Beal era. However, there's a limit to how young the team can be, both for downtrodden Wizards fans and the players who might stagnate amid constant losing.

Not only could Young be a veteran mentor for young players like Tre Johnson and Alex Sarr, but he's a very reasonably priced star for a team that has very little future salary on the books — and will have even less with Kispert being included in the trade.

Young has a $49M player option for 2026-27 that he could rip up in exchange for a longer deal. Jake Fischer reports such a deal would have to be worth at least $100M over three years, but that seems well within the Wizards' financial means and wouldn't keep them from making other big acquisitions. Or trading Young later.

For Young, it's a chance to rebuild his value after an injury-plagued season where he's fallen out of favor in Atlanta. Plus, the Wizards are showing signs that they're turning things around. They've won five of their last seven games while second-year players Kyshawn George and Sarr are emerging as potential stars.

It's a strange match to be sure. But Young and the Hawks didn't have a lot of better options than the Wizards, and the Wizards could do a lot worse than Young. The move isn't glamorous, but the Wizards and Young both need a comeback, and maybe that was enough to make the deal happen.