CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. That's it. That is all the Atlanta Hawks managed to get in return for their star point guard on Wednesday night.
Marc Stein was the first man on the scene in recent days, sharing the whispers and murmurings about the Washington Wizards emerging as a real landing spot for Trae Young. The foundation was laid there, and Shams Charania brought it home alongside him tonight, reporting a confirmed deal.
Young is on his way to Washington. After Atlanta flirted with indecision for years, regarding their All-Star's future with the franchise, they pulled the trigger with his stock at an all-time low. The Hawks quickly found out just how rough the market was for their undersized guard.
This is a lesson about the NBA's current environment that the Cleveland Cavaliers will hope eludes them if (or when) the time comes to trade Darius Garland. The comparable builds, skill sets, financial situations, and other such are all worrying commonalities the Cavaliers hope do not have relevance when it is decision time in Cleveland.
Trae Young and Darius Garland share eerily similar circumstances
It was just yesterday that Tim Bontemps wrote about how demand did not meet supply when it came to the point guard market. The ESPN insider was shockingly correct.
Bontemps wrote, “There simply isn’t a great need for point guard play. Across the league, the two deepest positions are point guards and centers, so teams trying to move either position will struggle to get back full value.”
The Hawks found that out in a hurry. They failed to secure any draft capital whatsoever in a trade where they sent out a former four-time All-Star.
Granted, Young has his flaws. On his best day, which did not come often enough in 2025-26, the small point guard is an absolute offensive machine. However, on any day, Young is also a brutal defensive liability.
Having that type of flawed skill set made his contract figure (north of $46 million this season) a tough one to swallow for any team interested in his services. The Wizards did it, but that is as buy low of a situation as one will find.
The Cavs should hope Garland does not slip down the same path.
Darius does not have the same highs as Trae on offense, but the two-time All-Star does not quite hit some of those lows either. The extremes are not as polarizing with him.
Even so, the Cavs guard grades out as arguably the worst defender on the team this season. Unlike last year, when his offense more than made up for it, Garland has been slower out of the gates with making up for the defensive letdowns. Although, the turnaround has quietly arrived of late.
The point here for the Cavs is avoiding circumstances that would force them to sell low like the Hawks just did with Young. This current CBA is vicious. Garland's max contract has the potential to turn ugly very quickly if Cleveland mismanages the situation.