The Atlanta Hawks dropped the curtain on the Trae Young era on Friday by trading him to the Washington Wizards. Young had been a franchise cornerstone for the Hawks for years and was shipped out of town for just CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
It wasn’t the greatest of returns, and Hawks GM Onsi Saleh was asked in his press conference on Monday why he believed Young no longer fit with their future plans for the team.
“Well, I think the guys we got back made a lot of sense for us,” Saleh said. “I think we’ve also seen the evolution of our team as well. We have a lot of ball handlers. I think you guys have seen that, too. A lot of guys that can initiate offense. Jalen’s [Johnson] emergence, guy’s basically averaging a triple-double this season. Dyson [Daniels] on ball, Nickeil [Alexander-Walker] on ball, I guess CJ on ball.
“We have a lot of guys that could handle,” Saleh added. “And just fitting the evolution of where we’re going. I think this made the most sense for us. It made sense for Trae, and I think this was the right trade for everybody.”
Getting Young’s salary off the books has been widely regarded as the biggest reason for this trade. He is making $46 million this season and has a $49 million player option for 2026-27. Saleh acknowledged that financial flexibility was indeed part of the reason they made the move.
“When we go through all the calculus of making the deal, there’s elements of the financial flexibility, the optionality, which is huge for us, but also like the players we’re getting back,” Saleh stated. “We have a really young team as well… Just having that optionality in this current cap environment, you guys are seeing it, you guys are seeing the repercussions of it, and the consequences if you’re not diligent with how you spend your cap space.
“So I felt between that and more so is really just the players coming back,” Saleh continued. “We really like the guys that fit with us and their roles here. So really excited about all that. Really excited about the current season, but also the future of this place. I think we did really well in that regard here.”
McCollum is going to be a free agent this summer when his two-year, $64 million deal expires, and Saleh refused to comment on whether he’d be getting an extension. If they do bring him back, it’ll be on a deal that’s worth significantly less than that one.
As for Young, Saleh, who was promoted to the position of general manager in 2025, thanked him for everything he had done for the franchise and the community.
“Trae has been so huge in our community, and him and Shelby, what they’ve done, we just wish them the best,” Saleh said. “They’ve been phenomenal for our organization. Talking about a guy that’s been the face of our franchise for quite a long time… Appreciate everything Trae has done for us. He’s been awesome and really wish him the best, and I think he’s going to do some cool stuff over there, too.”
Young, who averaged 25.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game in his Hawks career, is excited for his new chapter with the Wizards as well. It will be interesting to see if he can turn things around in Washington, as he did when he arrived in Atlanta in 2018.
Young led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. They were two wins away from the NBA Finals, and that is the closest the franchise has come to reaching the big stage since moving to Atlanta.
The Hawks haven’t won a single playoff series since losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in that Conference Finals, though. It was indeed time to part ways.
The Hawks are currently down in ninth in the East with a 20-22 record. They have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and would be keen not to extend the streak.
