Trae Young was traded from the Hawks to the Wizards in a blockbuster deal that sent NBA veteran C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert to Atlanta for the former All-Star’s arrival in Washington. Young had been the face of the Hawks franchise ever since they traded Luka Doncic for him on draft night.
The Lakers lost 91-107 to the Spurs tonight without LeBron James. After the game, Doncic was asked what he felt about Young’s trade.
“So that’s why they were out? I saw they were out,” said Doncic while joking about Kispert and McCollum’s trade as soon as he got the news about Young.
“Obviously, we came together, we got traded for each other. So there’s been a lot of talk about him and me. But we have a good relationship, a lot of respect for him. So if he’s excited for this new journey, then I’m excited for him,” said Doncic.
The Lakers guard finished the Spurs game with 38 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 13-26 from the field (50.0%), and his shooting woes from beyond the arc continued as he went 2-9 (22.2%) from the three-point line.
The former Hawks guard, Young, was traded by the Mavericks on draft night for Doncic. Ever since then, both these players have been the franchise players of their respective teams until they both got traded within a span of 12 months.
No question they are still franchise-caliber talents, but with Young’s recent injury woes and the chip on his shoulder to bounce back harder now, it seems like the Wizards got a bargain deal.
While Young has been struggling this season, he has only played in 10 games so far due to his injuries. He has averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.5 rebounds, shooting only 30.5% from beyond the arc. But this does not reflect what the 27-year-old guard is capable of.
Just last season (2024-25), he led the league in assists (11.6 per game) and has also been an All-NBA player before. Therefore, if Young bounces back to his usual form, the Hawks will likely regret letting him go.
It was noteworthy that Young found out about his trade during the Hawks’ 117-100 win over the Pelicans. He bid his teammates farewell on the bench and left for the locker room near the end of the fourth quarter.
It will be interesting to see how both these guards from the 2018 draft class will fare with their new franchises. Doncic has already settled in fairly well; hopefully, things go upwards for Young from here as well.
