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In recent days and weeks, the rumblings surrounding Trae Young's future in Atlanta grew too loud to ignore. Having appeared in just ten games this season due to injury, the point guard's production slipped, and the Hawks failed to string together wins when Young was on the floor.

Add in the continued emergence of Jalen Johnson, and offseason addition Nickeil Alexander-Walker exceeding the expectations of many, and the writing was on the wall. On Wednesday night, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Young was traded to the Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

Atlanta receives some salary-cap relief, as McCollum will be an unrestricted free agent in June, and he and Kispert can provide shooting around Johnson, who appears to be the Hawks' new cornerstone. Let's look at this trade and how it affects the fantasy values of the players involved and their new teams.

Washington receives: Trae Young

When healthy and playing at his best, Young can be a highly valuable fantasy player, especially in eight-cat formats. However, in the short term, it's fair to question what the Wizards' plans are for the franchise's new point guard. Young has missed Atlanta's last five games with a quad injury. Was the injury the only reason why he sat? Or did the trade speculation and desire to avoid aggravating anything have a role? It would clearly be in Washington's best interest to exercise caution with Young, not only for his health but also for the potential impact on the 2026 NBA Draft.

Washington's first-round pick is top-8 protected; if it falls outside of that range, it will go to the Knicks. And at this stage in the franchise's rebuild, adding another elite talent in what is a loaded 2026 draft class would be good business. With that in mind, would the Wizards consider shutting Young down, as Toronto did with Brandon Ingram last season? We'll see.

Young's fantasy value, once he gets on the court, should be fine. How he and Alex Sarr mesh in the two-man game is something to watch, and Young's presence may also benefit wings Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson. That said, Bub Carrington may be in a challenging spot, even if he were (for some reason) to start alongside Young. Bub's value may receive a short-term boost if Young isn't immediately ready to play, but dynasty league managers who have him rostered can't be thrilled with Wednesday's development.

With McCollum and Kispert now out of the picture, the clock begins to tick on Khris Middleton. Like CJ, the experience and wisdom he brings to the locker room can't be overstated. But, if the Wizards can acquire future draft capital in exchange for Middleton at (or before) the February trade deadline, one has to assume that they'll make the move. He still isn't playing back-to-backs, and the time off may increase if he's in Washington after the deadline. One would hope that some of the availability concerns would subside if Middleton is moved to a team with playoff ambitions.

Atlanta receives: CJ McCollum, Corey Kispert

The Hawks' decision to move Young boosts the fantasy values of two players in the immediate aftermath of the move: Johnson and Alexander-Walker. Johnson has become a triple-double threat this season, offering first-round value in eight- and nine-cat formats. Even with McCollum joining the fold, the ball is going to be in his hands plenty. As for Alexander-Walker, he should continue to serve as the starting point guard. Despite playing well enough to merit being rostered in most leagues, NAW is still available in more than half of Yahoo! leagues. Look for that to change, beginning Thursday morning.

Dyson Daniels may receive a slight boost to his fantasy value because of the additional playmaking opportunities, but he's unlikely to benefit at the level that Johnson and Alexander-Walker should. Post players Onyeka Okongwu and Kristaps Porziņģis will be intriguing to watch, as both have been quality fantasy options (when healthy, in the case of the latter). No Young in the lineup did not result in a sharp decrease in their scoring opportunities, thanks mainly to Johnson's improved playmaking.

The players who may be at most significant risk of a drop in fantasy value may be those who are rostered in less than 20 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Zaccharie Risacher should remain a starter, but Atlanta's bench improved with the addition of McCollum. With Risacher already offering limited fantasy value, the second unit's increased strength may result in fewer minutes for him. Luke Kennard and Vit Krejčí are also in challenging spots, and they already brought limited fantasy value to the table.

It had become clear that Atlanta needed to make a change, having underwhelmed after entering the season with expectations of competing in the East. McCollum and Kispert may not move the needle immediately, but moving on from Young's contract should make for an interesting summer.

Washington has a young core with potential. Alex Sarr is starting to break out in his second season, plus Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Bub Carrington and the two-way potential of Bilal Coulibaly. What the Wizards lacked was an elite offensive player to tie it all together.

Enter Trae Young.

As has been rumored for days, the Atlanta Hawks have agreed to trade Young to Washington for CJ McCollum and wing Corey Kispert, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and since confirmed by others. It felt meaningful that McCollum and Kispert were held out of the Wizards game on Wednesday, but the trade happened mid-game with Young saying his goodbyes to teammates in the arena.

Now Young gets to go to his preferred destination in Washington, while Atlanta gets to move on.

Young exits Atlanta, where he has been the face of the franchise since they traded for him on draft night more than seven years ago. He has been an entertaining fan favorite who averaged 25.2 points and 9.8 assists a game for the team and was a three-time All-Star. Young led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, only the second time the franchise had made it that far.

The writing was on the wall for Young's exit last summer when Atlanta chose not to extend his contract, instead opting to see how he looked with a revamped, healthy roster built to maximize his skill set. The reality is the Hawks have been better without him — they are 2-8 in the 10 games he has played and 15-13 in the games he has missed. It became clear that the Hawks were ready to pivot to a roster built around length and athleticism, featuring Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and others.

The decision for Young to move on was mutual, and his agents at CAA were working with the Hawks to find a trade that worked for everyone. Washington was his preferred destination.

For the Hawks, they get a player who can still get a bucket in McCollum, who is averaging 18.8 points a game this season, but also has a $30.7 million expiring contract. McCollum can help in the short term, while Kispert — a sharpshooting 6'6" wing hitting 39.5% from 3 point range this season, averaging 9.2 points a game — who will blend right into the Hawks rotation.

For Washington, they get a box office draw and someone for fans to rally around, an All-Star level offensive player who can lead their team on the court — and they gave up almost nothing. How much we see of Young the rest of this season is up for debate, however, as Washington owes its pick to New York but it is top-eight protected. Washington doesn't want to start winning too much all of a sudden and lose their pick in a deep draft with some potential franchise cornerstones at the top. The Wizards would currently enter the lottery with the No. 4 pick and are not going to want that to change too much.