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.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, right, greets teammate Luke Kennard (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots against New York Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara (51) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) drives against the Miami Heat during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.
Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.
Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.
“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”
Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.
“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”
The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.
Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.
With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.
Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.
The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.
“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."
The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.
Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.
“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”
This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.
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Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
