01/08/26 07:22:00
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01/08 07:21 CST Hawks agree to trade high-scoring guard Trae Young to Wizards,
AP source says
Hawks agree to trade high-scoring guard Trae Young to Wizards, AP source says
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
Trae Young's tenure in Atlanta is over, with the Hawks agreeing to trade the
high-scoring and frequently criticized guard to the Washington Wizards for a
package including veteran CJ McCollum, a person with knowledge of the move said
Wednesday night.
Corey Kispert is also headed from Washington to Atlanta, said the person, who
spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had
not received the required league approval. The person said the league's trade
call will not take place before Thursday. Typically, teams cannot discuss
pending trades until they are approved by the league.
"I know you all have questions for me that right now I'm not at liberty to talk
about or answer," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said, unprompted, at the start of his
postgame news conference Wednesday night following Atlanta's win over visiting
New Orleans.
NBA reporter Marc Stein was first to disclose that the sides were closing in on
a deal, and ESPN first reported that the agreement was in place.
The Wizards held McCollum and Kispert out of their loss at Philadelphia on
Wednesday night, and Young was on the bench in street clothes for Atlanta. He
left the bench area in the fourth quarter, then returned and left again for the
final time with about 30 seconds left --- slapping hands with a few fans as he
headed toward the locker room.
He leaves Atlanta as the Hawks' career leader in assists (passing Doc Rivers)
and 3-pointers (passing Mookie Blaylock). He's fourth on Atlanta's free throws
list and sixth in points.
Hawks power forward Mouhamed Gueye said he didn't know during Wednesday's game
that the trade news had gone public. He had nothing but high praise afterward
for his time with Young.
"That's T.Y. That's Trae Young," Gueye said. "When I first got here, he was one
of the first guys that texted me, welcoming me to the city, gave me a lot of
advice. Obviously, playing with Trae, as a big, is like a dream come true. I
love him as a guy, I love him as a teammate. ... An Atlanta legend."
Young is 10th in points, 12th in points per game, first in assists and first in
assists per game since entering the NBA as the No. 5 pick in the 2018 draft.
He is one of five players to rank in the top 10 in both points and assists
since he entered the league; the others are Denver's Nikola Jokic, the Los
Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Clippers' James Harden and
Phoenix's Devin Booker.
Jokic has won a championship and is a three-time MVP. Doncic is considered an
MVP candidate, Harden is a member of the 75th anniversary team, and Booker is a
two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Young doesn't get the level of respect those players have earned. He's a
four-time All-Star --- two of those nods coming through voting, two of them
coming when Commissioner Adam Silver added him to the roster as an injury
replacement.
But the Hawks, this season anyway, have been better without Young. Atlanta was
2-8 this season when Young played; the Hawks are 16-13 without him. Over his
career, the Hawks won 49% of their games when Young wasn't in the lineup --- as
opposed to 45% when he played.
He has a player option for about $49 million for next season and is eligible
for a three-year extension with the Wizards.
McCollum averaged 18.8 points in 35 games with Washington this season and is a
19.6-point scorer for his career. The Hawks will become his fourth team; he
also played for Portland and New Orleans.
Kispert has been a backup for the bulk of his five NBA seasons, all with
Washington. He's averaged 10.9 points for his career while shooting 38% from
3-point range.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
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