The Atlanta Hawks traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night, which makes the Luka Doncic trade look much worse in hindsight. The Hawks traded Doncic for Young and the Mavericks’ 2019 first round pick during the 2018 draft. Atlanta selected Cam Reddish with the Dallas pick, who was later traded for Kevin Knox and a 2022 lottery-protected first from Charlotte. The Hornets’ pick did not convey, as they missed the playoffs that season.
Now that Trae Young is gone, the full trade is: Doncic for CJ McCollum, Corey Kispert, and Knox.
While the return package for Young was already embarrassing for the franchise, Doncic’s history as a Hawk-for-a-day sealed the deal – this is the worst trade in Hawks history, and is in the running for the worst trade in NBA history (ironically, outside of another ill-fated Doncic trade).
It is a true travesty that Atlanta converted Doncic, who is now one of the best players in the league, into a 34-year-old spark plug in McCollum, a bench sharpshooter in Kispert, and a fringe NBA player in Knox. Former Hawks GM Travis Schlenk set the franchise back greatly with this move.
The Hawks could be on top of the world with Doncic
Young and Doncic share many qualities. Both players employ the James Harden “heliocentric” style of offense, dominating possession with spread pick and rolls. The two stars are also among the best passers in the league, but their defensive effort has been questioned over the years.
Where the two begin to diverge, however, is in their effectiveness. Doncic is a five-time All-NBA first team player who peaked at third in MVP voting; Young is a one-time All-NBA third team player who has never received an MVP vote. Doncic was able to drag the Mavericks to an unlikely Finals appearance; Young could only muster an Eastern Conference Finals appearance for Atlanta.
While some would argue that both players have underachieved relative to expectations at the draft, Doncic has always been the better player. The former EuroLeague MVP had already proven himself against elite competition, whereas Young was a risky bet on an archetype that rarely works in the NBA.
With Doncic at the helm in Atlanta, the franchise would have been a perennial playoff threat in an Eastern Conference that has sorely lacked in quality outside of the top few teams during Young’s career. In an alternate universe, perhaps the Doncic-led Hawks could have been the team that made a shocking Finals appearance this decade, rather than the Heat or Pacers.
But alas, Schlenk traded Doncic for Young and Reddish, which devolved to McCollum, Kispert, and Knox. Hawks fans can only dream about the glory that could’ve been with Doncic running the show.