2020 Russell Westbrook trade led to timing of Trae Young deal for Wizards

The Wizards are worried about finishing outside of the NBA's bottom eight and losing their first-round pick (now owned by the New York Knicks), and so they removed their leading scorer and another rotation player for someone who likely won't play serious minutes until 2026-27. 2026 is the last year of protection on the Wizards' first-rounder before it turns into two second-round picks.

Washington needs to ensure that they're no better than the fifth-worst team in the NBA to make sure they keep the lottery pick. They probably never imagined that trading for Westbrook would leave them worrying about not losing enough, six years later.

The New York Knicks are one of the Trae Young trade's losers — and winners

The Knicks have to be torn. On one hand, McCollum leaving the Wizards hurts the Knicks' chances of getting an extra first-round pick next season. The pick has had a long journey to New York. The Rockets traded it to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a draft-night deal for Alperen Sengun in 2021. A year later, the Thunder sent it to the Knicks in a deal for Ousmane Dieng. It's a rare opportunity for the Knicks to get a high pick, and that's unlikely to happen now.

On the other, New York will not have to face Trae Young, one of the team's biggest enemies, in the playoffs. Young and the Hawks beat the Knicks in the 2021 playoffs, with Young averaging 29.2 points and 9.8 assists in a five-game win. Against the Knicks, Young averages 24.9 PPG and 9.8 assists for his career.

It's a lot easier to weather a Young scoring explosion when he's part of a team of 22-and-unders. Fans at Madison Square Garden will still boo Young voraciously, but there won't be nearly as much at stake in the games.

Atlanta Hawks could be a lot better after adding CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert

The Hawks are only 18-21, but that's with Young playing only 10 games and struggling on defense when he did play. McCollum and Kispert are great midseason reinforcements, both fitting in with Quin Snyder's favored style of play, which favors outside shooting over the ability to score in isolation.

But making the Hawks better is just a byproduct of the Wizards making themselves worse. The Wizards might improve quite a bit with Young at point guard for the 2026-27 season. This year, adding him — and keeping him shelved — will make sure they don't improve too much.