The Atlanta Hawks agreed to trade Trae Young to the Washington Wizards during the middle of their 117-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, with Young sidelined on the bench because of injury. What followed looked very much like a farewell.
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Young, wearing a polo shirt, was shown on the FanDuel Sports Network Southeast broadcast shaking hands with team staffers as the cameras lingered. The announcers took note.
"This was the scene here at State Farm Arena moments ago," one broadcaster said, carefully couching the moment as rumors swirled.
Trae Young saying his goodbyes to the Hawks staff pic.twitter.com/hRLQbsqRPE
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) January 8, 2026
A few minutes later, with Atlanta up comfortably, Young shared a long hug with a fan seated courtside. In the final minute, he walked away from the bench, slapped hands with several fans, and headed toward the tunnel.
"Lonely man in the hallway," the broadcaster added as Young disappeared from view.
The trade became official shortly thereafter. According to ESPN, the Hawks agreed to send Young to Washington in exchange for veterans CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
The move had been building. Earlier this week, reports indicated Young and the Hawks had discussed a possible split and that he was open to a change of scenery.
Atlanta declined to offer him a max extension, leaving Young with a $49 million player option for next season and little long-term clarity. Another report suggested Young preferred a move to Washington, and the two struggling teams ultimately found common ground.
I was already a pretty big Trae Young fan, and that has only increased after he became the first player in NBA history to pick the Wizards as his preferred destination.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) January 8, 2026
Young's time in Atlanta ends after eight seasons. There were highlights, including a memorable 2021 playoff run that saw the Hawks knock off the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals.
Since then, Atlanta has stalled. The Hawks have not won a playoff series since that run, exiting in the first round in 2022 and 2023 and missing the postseason the past two years. They sit at 18-21 this season.
Young averaged 25.2 points per game during his Hawks tenure and made four All-Star teams. Injuries have limited him to just 10 games this season due to a right quad contusion.
Now he heads to Washington, where the Wizards are again near the bottom of the standings at 10-26. The hope there is that Young can raise the floor while the franchise looks ahead.
