Report: Hawks’ Trae Young eyes Wizards as preferred destination
Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young would prefer to relocate to the nation's capital, home of the Washington Wizards, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
As the sides amicably discuss a deal to move Young, the report added guard CJ McCollum's expiring contract would be included in the deal. McCollum, it should be noted, was ruled out ahead of the Wizards' game against the host Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday due to right quad soreness.
Young and the Hawks appeared to be on the outs after the team declined to offer the four-time All-Star a max extension in the offseason. Young also has a $49 million player option for next season.
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. ET.
Young, 27, has spent his entire career in Atlanta since the team acquired him in a draft-and-trade deal with Dallas in the 2018 NBA Draft as the fifth overall pick. He's the franchise's all-time leader in assists (4,837) and 3-pointers made (1,295).
His career average of 9.8 assists per game is the third highest in NBA history behind only Hall of Famers Earvin "Magic" Johnson and John Stockton.
Young, a third-team All-NBA player for the 2021-22 season, led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals in the 2020-21 campaign. Atlanta failed to make it out of the first round the next two seasons and also couldn't escape the play-in tournament the last two campaigns.
Young has missed 28 of Atlanta's 38 games this season, and he's currently sidelined by a quad contusion. Young is averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists per game -- both the lowest since his rookie season -- in his limited action this campaign.
Over eight seasons and 493 games (all starts), Young has averaged 25.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest.