{"id":580233,"date":"2026-02-03T19:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/580233\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:58:14","slug":"bleacher-report-favors-wizards-in-most-recent-blockbuster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/580233\/","title":{"rendered":"Bleacher Report Favors Wizards In Most Recent Blockbuster"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks completed the first trade<\/a> of what could soon become one of the most insane trade deadlines<\/a> the NBA has ever seen. As the 2026 calendar marches toward the February 5 deadline, Bleacher Report\u2019s Dan Favale<\/a> took the time to grade the three trades that have happened so far this season.<\/p>\n

The blockbuster: four-time NBA All-Star Trae Young<\/a> for veteran CJ McCollum<\/a> and Corey Kispert<\/a>, sent shockwaves around the league<\/a>, with both sides having something to gain from the deal. However, Favale has given the Wizards an ever-so-slight edge in his trade grade. After grading the Hawks at a C, he had this to say about Washington:<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s Impact
\n\"NewlyJan 9, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Newly acquired Washington Wizards guard Trae Young (R) speaks at an introductory press conference as Wizards general manager Will Dawkins (L) listens prior to the Wizards\u2019 game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

If anything, the grade could be higher than a B+, and absolutely no lower. Young has a unique ability that not many players have: he truly makes guys better. Look at a player like Kevin Huerter<\/a>, who has only seen one season since leaving Atlanta that was better than his time with the Hawks.<\/p>\n

Or, most recently, De\u2019Andre Hunter<\/a>, who was having a career year before being traded to Cleveland last season. Now, Hunter is awaiting his debut for the Kings, just a year after leaving Atlanta and Young.<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s scoring ability is too hard to guard. Simply, his offensive gravity cannot be contained by one defender alone. In turn, this makes the guys around him more open, leading to better shots and higher percentages on the floor. When you think of Washington\u2019s current roster, Alex Sarr<\/a> and Tre Johnson<\/a> will benefit the most from Young\u2019s offensive impact.<\/p>\n

Johnson will be able to work as a true scoring guard, being relieved of his current playmaking role without McCollum. Sarr will be an absolute lethal threat in pick situations. He\u2019s proven he can be a true threat from three, but now possesses the skillset to take it into the paint and finish through lots of contact.<\/p>\n

The athletic wing pair of Bilal Coulibaly<\/a> and Cam Whitmore<\/a> will excel with Young on the floor. Both players can get to the rack in a hurry, and Whitmore\u2019s verticality will no doubt lead to some big-time lobs once the pair can gain some chemistry.<\/p>\n

Players like Bub Carrington<\/a> and Kyshawn George<\/a> may experience a slight negative impact on their roles, but both will still be major contributors to the team\u2019s competitiveness. George will return to his secondary distributor role, while Carrington may see fewer minutes and a decline in overall usage.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to say that no one can predict how this trade will play out. It\u2019s only been a month, so time will tell. However, the Wizards now have a point guard for the future with some serious potential postseason runs ahead. While Atlanta will have some cap space (barring they re-sign McCollum), there is still a question that remains. Did they make a mistake not getting a better return?<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks completed the first trade of what could soon become one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3780],"tags":[979,7,7046,6339,6,494,952,682,468,3892,683],"class_list":{"0":"post-580233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-wizards","8":"tag-alex-sarr","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-cj-mccollum","11":"tag-corey-kispert","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-trae-young","14":"tag-tre-johnson","15":"tag-washington","16":"tag-washington-wizards","17":"tag-washingtonwizards","18":"tag-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116008473586719232","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}