There was an end of an era (error?) in Atlanta on Wednesday, as the Hawks pulled the trigger on a long-rumored trade, ending the Trae Young era by sending him to…
[checks notes]
…the Washington Wizards in exchange for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum. No picks going either way. It’s a surreal ending to a tenure that has been deeply intertwined with our New York Knicks, but one that felt like it was coming since the season began in October. The Hawks have played better without him and seem to have moved
on to building around Jalen Johnson. When you add on his contract situation, this was inevitable.
Trae’s career will forever be connected to the Knicks, as when he retires, his career highlights will likely be plastered with highlights that have orange and blue on the other side. The 2021 First Round and all the moments attached with that, the “dice roll”, etc. His final game as a Hawk? A brutal defeat against the Knicks, where he went 2-for-9, 0-for-4 from three, and committed six turnovers, while being a minus-13 in a three-point defeat.
He’s been a classic New York villain for the past several years. NBA fans and the media will never let us live it down (even if he was stunting on Reggie Bullock and Taj Gibson). But what if I told you that Trae has a chance to redeem himself to the city that still loves to chant profanities at him?
Most Knicks fans remember that the Knicks hold the Wizards’ conditional 2026 first-round pick, one of three draft picks the team acquired on draft night in 2022 when they traded the No. 11 pick to the OKC Thunder. While the other two picks are long gone (including a Pistons pick that did eventually convey after it was sent to Minnesota), this is the final year of the conditional pick for the Wizards.
The prolonged rebuild by Washington has allowed them to avoid giving up their pick to the Knicks, even as the protections get smaller and smaller. The 2026 pick in top-eight protected, and if it doesn’t convey, it’ll turn into two second-round picks. That way, if the Wizards finish with a miserable record again, the Knicks would at least get a pick in the low 30s in the same draft, as well as a 2027 2nd, for their troubles.
As of Thursday morning, the Wizards have the fourth-worst record in the NBA at 10-26. As it stands, it will not convey. But with a motivated Trae Young now looking to prove himself worthy of a rich contract extension by his new team, could he get a few extra wins out of the lowly Wizards? Could he form a pick-and-roll tandem with former No. 2 pick Alex Sarr that allows Washington’s offense to outplay their horrific defense?
They’re 3.5 games back of the Mavericks in the standings, who currently sit at No. 9. They don’t necessarily have to get down there to convey the pick, as they’d have a 39% chance to drop to ninth if they sat at No. 8 and a 14.2% chance to drop if they sat in the 7th spot.
Unfortunately, the Wizards will likely do whatever they can to maximize their odds of keeping the pick, even if Young’s arrival leads to more wins. Expect “load management” shenanigans in April. But in the off chance the Knicks can get the pick, it’d be a life raft to Leon Rose and company to get a cheap lottery talent on a rookie deal (or a trade asset for a certain Greek Freak…).
There are other implications to the trade outside of the Knicks’ draft picks, of course.
The Hawks are going to lean into being menaces defensively, which they’ve been when Young is in street clothes. They don’t have any defensive warts on their roster anymore and seem to have enough offense to compete for a top-six seed, especially with Johnson’s playmaking leap and McCollum’s scoring punch. They even acquired a certified Knicks killer to replace Trae! The question is, what’s their plan to take the next step?
Is it Anthony Davis? The Hawks have some movable contracts (namely, Kristaps Porzingis) and have been interested suitors for the 32-year-old veteran for a while. With Young out of the picture, they could pivot to Davis and Johnson as their star tandem. There are risks to that, of course, with Davis’ age and growing injury concerns, but that would immediately make them an extremely tough team to beat in the playoffs.
The Wizards also have an intriguing outlook going forward. If they manage to get a top pick and can add a player like AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, or Darryn Peterson to a core that’s quickly filling with solid players, they could emerge as play-in contenders by next season.
Young’s long-term outlook will be one to watch. He has a $49 million player option for next season, and he’d be a fool to decline it with NBA free agency quickly falling out of style. Will he show the Wizards enough to formally solidify himself as the face of that franchise? Many questions.
