Trae Young’s time with the Atlanta Hawks, which once seemed destined to last forever, has officially come to an end after the franchise agreed to a trade sending him to the Washington Wizards. In the aftermath of the move, Kristaps Porzingis, a former star in D.C. who shared the locker room with Young in Atlanta, expressed his disappointment at losing him.
Advertisement
The Hawks will get CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert in return for Young, who now joins a Wizards squad that’s languishing in the bottom of the East. But that’s not where they want to stay for long and are reportedly, already working on moves to bolster their chances of moving up. One of the players in their radar is believed to be Anthony Davis.
Young, a four-time All-Star, will bring some much needed attention to the Wizards, who will now be taken seriously. Yes, it wasn’t working out in Atlanta, but Porzingis was one of the few to realize just what type of talent the organization would now be missing out on.
The Latvian arrived in Atlanta only in 2025, and admitted after the team’s victory against the Pelicans on Wednesday that he was getting open looks “all the time” whenever Young was on the floor.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best passers that I have played with. I think everybody was benefitting from playing with him,” Porzingis stated. “Offensively, he’s a Wizard,” he added, realizing his smart choice of words.
“He’s an amazing, amazing player, and I am sad I didn’t get more time with him.”
Some wordplay from Kristaps Porzingis as he expressed some sadness over not getting to play with Trae Young more:
“Offensively, he was a wizard.” pic.twitter.com/bTWmiHQwlg
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) January 8, 2026
Sometimes, it is easy to forget just how good Young has been for the Hawks. He’s taken them to three playoff appearances including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. Defensively, he was a liability but there are few offensive assets in the league better than him. Over the last five years, Young has averaged around 27 points and 10 assists per game.
The youngsters on the Hawks team are also not too happy about the fact that their franchise cornerstone is now gone. He bid farewell to them all in the middle of their game on Wednesday and left the arena, for the last time as a member of the Hawks. 2024 No. 1 Draft Pick Zaccharie Risacher said, “He’s my guy, that’s my brother. That was one of the first people I met in this organization, and from day 1, he always had my back.”
“I want what’s best for him. If he’s happy, I’m always happy for him,” he added.
Hopefully, Young finds his joy back in the Capital, and so do the Wizards fanbase.
