When the news initially broke that the Atlanta Hawks were trading their veteran point guard, Trae Young, to the Washington Wizards, the narrative that began soon after was that the Hawks didn't get enough value in return for shipping off the four-time All-Star.
However, with recent reports out of Washington indicating Young isn't expected to suit up for the Wizards for the foreseeable future, people are taking a closer look at what the Hawks received in return.
When looking at what this Hawks roster was lacking as they approach the February 5th trade deadline, their return may actually be more valuable than the Wizards, at least for this season. While it seemed like Washington made this trade just because they could, Atlanta, on the other hand, seems to be actually trading for suitable pieces in the Quin Snyder offense.
In exchange for the seven-year veteran, the Atlanta Hawks received an aging CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert. For starters, one of Atlanta's most intangible needs on its roster has been experience, and CJ McCollum offers a much-needed veteran presence for one of the NBA's younger teams.
Additionally, Corey Kispert adds another dimension to this Atlanta shooting core, which already ranks among the best shooting teams in the league. Kispert, who is a career 38.3% from three, now creates a trio of shooters along with Luke Kennard and Vit Krejci, who together are shooting a staggering 46% from the arc this season!
Wizards want to be patient with Trae Young
According to the Wizards' head coach, Brian Keefe, they are focused on getting Trae Young fully healthy before they begin determining his return timeline. This, in turn, has the media starting to speculate on when we'll see Trae Young make his Wizards debut this season, if at all.
Furthermore, the Wizards are adamant on keeping Trae Young off the court right now because of their first round pick in the upcoming draft, which currently sits in the top-8. If it were to fall out of this threshold, the New York Knicks would retain the rights to their pick, so Washington is looking to minimize this risk as much as possible.
With these newest developments, there's now an opportunity for this narrative to shift in Atlanta's favor if they use their newest pieces as intended.
With the way that Washington plans on utilizing Trae Young, or lack thereof, it really does seem like the organization just made this move with no clear motive. For Atlanta, however, they have truly plugged in holes that were holding this team back with Trae on the roster.
At the end of the day, only time will tell to see who truly got the better end of this deal. At least for this season, availability is the best ability, and Atlanta now has two players coming in at full strength, motivated to compete with a more competent roster.
The future is bright in Atlanta, especially with the cap space that has now opened up following Trae Young's departure. While this season isn't shaping out to be Atlanta's ceiling, the sky is certainly the limit with all of their capital now.
If Atlanta can capitalize on its draft picks and continue to carve out roles for its key playmakers, the Hawks will continue to climb the Eastern Conference rankings, and it's no longer a question of "if"; it's "when".