NBA 101

After more than seven seasons together, Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are ready to go their separate ways. It’s mutual, with Young’s agents working for the Hawks to find the best trade partner and new home for the three-time All-Star.

The challenge is actually finding a trade that works.

There is not much of a market for Young, league sources have told NBC Sports. On the surface, one would think a lot of teams would be interested in a 27-year-old in his prime who averages 25.2 points and 9.8 assists a game for his career. They are not. Part of the hesitation is that the league is deep with good point guards, and not many teams are looking for one (for example, Young used to be linked to the Spurs, but they now have De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper). For the teams that need someone at the point, the challenges are Young’s well-chronicled defensive shortcomings, his ball-dominant style and how that impacts team chemistry, and how those two items combine to put a ceiling on how good a team can be with Young. Add in the fact he makes a lot of money — $45.9 million this season, a $48.9 million player option for next season, and he is eligible for and wants a contract extension — and teams looking at tax aprons are hesitant. At best.

Which teams are interested? Who should be? Here are three teams to watch.

Washington Wizards

Washington is the clear frontrunner for a Young trade, with NBA insider Marc Stein first reporting their interest. The Wizards have a promising young core: Second-year center Alex Sarr is a defensive force who can shoot 3s and is the kind of big a lot of teams are trying to find; plus there is scoring on the wings with Tre Johnson and Kyshawn George, and the two-way potential of Bilal Coulibaly. Add Young to this group and suddenly the long-moribund Wizards — who have made the playoffs once in the last seven years and that will become eight this season — have an entertaining team with potential.

There are legitimate concerns that a trade could short-circuit the player development underway in Washington, but if owner Ted Leonsis just wants to get back into the postseason quickly, this is a path to it.

The Trade: Washington receives Trae Young; Atlanta receives C.J. McCollum, Corey Kispert and some picks.

McCollum is in this deal to make the money work, he has an expiring $30.6 million contract. That said, he is averaging 18.6 points per game this season, is a veteran leader, and could be a boost for the remainder of the season in Atlanta.

Kispert is a rock-solid rotation wing shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc this season — which is why the Hawks won’t want to give him up and instead will push for something like the combination of Malaki Branham and AJ Johnson in the deal. That could be a sticking point.

The draft picks get interesting — there are front offices around the league that feel Atlanta should have to send picks out with Young to get a team to take on that contract. The Hawks do not see it that way. Washington should not give up its own pick this year or anything of real value, but it does control Oklahoma City’s 2026 pick (technically, they get the worst of the Thunder, Rockets and Clippers, which will be OKC). That will very likely be the 30th pick, so the Wizards can throw it in and the Hawks can say they got a first-round pick. That’s the most valuable pick the Wizards should give up, other than just a second-rounder or two.

Minnesota Timberwolves

And we’re already into trades that I don’t like and/or don’t make much sense.

The argument for Minnesota to trade for Young is that they need shooting and a point guard, since Father Time quickly caught up with Mike Conley. The idea is that the team needs a boost if it is going to take a step forward from making the Western Conference Finals (as it has done the past two seasons), and Young could be that boost. Anthony Edwards, next to Young, has the potential to be explosive offensively, and with Rudy Gobert in the paint, they can cover up Young’s defensive shortcomings.

The problem is how much money Young makes and how much Minnesota has to give up in any trade.

The Trade: Minnesota receives Trae Young; Atlanta receives Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley and a player on a minimum contract.

What has made Minnesota so dangerous the past few years is its depth and versatility, and this four-for-one trade sacrifices it. Minnesota is a good 23-13 this season, and while that is still sixth in the West the Timberwolves are a game out of the top four and hosting a round in the playoffs, and 2.5 games out of being the No. 2 seed. This is not a team in need of a dramatic shakeup of roster and style, and that’s what Young brings to the table.

While this trade can be manipulated to bring in a third team and maybe send out Julius Randle instead, the issue comes back to the reality that it’s hard to see how any of these trades would make Minnesota better. This is not a deal they should be involved in.

Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee is buying, not selling, heading into the trade deadline — it wants to enhance a team that believes it can still be a threat in a wide-open East and in doing so impress Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks need more talent — more shot creation and shooting around Antetokounmpo — and Young is the biggest name on the board. Sure, the Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard pairing didn’t work, but the Bucks can try to convince themselves that this would be different, no matter how much they have to give up.

For Atlanta, they could get help along the front line and maybe a future first-round pick… is that enough?

The Trade: Milwaukee receives Trae Young; Atlanta receives Bobby Portis, Kyle Kuzma, another player (Gary Harris?), Milwaukee’s 2031 first-round pick.

That pick becomes a big inflection point: would the Bucks give it up? I’m not sure why Atlanta would want to do this deal and take on the added years of Portis and Kuzma unless that pick was in the mix. If I’m the Bucks is Young really enough to give up the one first-round pick I can still trade?

Portis would help the front line in Atlanta and Kuzma can fit in the rotation. For Milwaukee, already a very thin team, this would hurt its depth even more. Can Young alone fix the issue of the non-Antetokounmpo minutes?

This feels more like a trade born of desperation and is not a great deal for either side, but are both teams desperate enough to do it anyway?

Other Teams mentioned

Here are quick thoughts on other teams that come up in rumors:

• LA Clippers: The idea is that Young would help the team in the non-James Harden minutes, except that Kawhi Leonard is healthy and doing that much better than Young would already. Plus, the Clippers are focused on a 2027 pivot and wouldn’t want to extend Young.

• Toronto Raptors: Is Young really a fit with a team that is winning thanks to its defense and depth? The trade likely would require RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley plus a first-round pick or two going to Atlanta, and it’s hard to see why Toronto thinks this makes them better (taking the ball out of Brandon Ingram’s hands).

• Sacramento Kings: Let’s put aside the fact that this trade does not make much sense for either side (when has that stopped Sacramento in the past), instead focusing on the fact that Sam Amick at The Athletic has already reported the Kings have zero interest in such a trade. That’s smart by the Kings.

• Dallas Mavericks: Multiple reports out of Dallas say there is no interest in the team trading for Young. There will be no swap of problems with Anthony Davis.