Projecting the Atlanta Hawks Rotation After Acquiring CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert From The Washington Wizards

How will the Atlanta Hawks rotation look after trading Trae Young to the Washington Wizards and acquiring CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert

Dec 28, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum (3) dribbles against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

After nearly eight full seasons as the face of the Atlanta Hawks franchise, Trae Young has been traded.

During the Hawks' game against the New Orleans Pelicans last night, ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news that Young was going to be traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

Things began to heat up this week when NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Wizards had emerged as a legitimate destination for Young, and things progressed with each day. Now the Hawks are going to turn the page on one era and begin one that does not include their all-time leader in assists.

While this has a lot of implications for the Hawks and what they might do in the future, given they have a lot of flexibility and optionality now, how will their current roster look or how might it change with the additions of McCollum and Kispert?

Let's break it down

Point guard

Jan 5, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) shoots the ball over Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley (5) in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Starter: Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Backups: CJ McCollum, Vit Krejci, Keaton Wallace

This is going to be the most interesting decision that Quin Snyder is going to have to make. Alexander-Walker is having the best season of his career right now and has good chemistry with the rest of the starting lineup that the Hawks ahve been using. I think it would make sense, at least to start, to bring McCollum off the bench and then see how he meshes with different lineups.

McCollum is not as good as Young obviously, but he is going to be able to bring a scoring punch to this team and give them another ball handler as well. He should fit in well and I think he will be effective in either playing alongside Alexander-Walker or Dyson Daniels.

Krejci is another player to monitor. He has been playing really well this season and has been an excellent shooter. He is still a valuable ball handler, but now they have another shooter with size in Kispert. I would like to see how the addition of Kispert affects Krejci's time, if at all.

Keaton Wallace is likely only going to have a role if there are injuries.

Shooting Guard

Jan 5, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) dribbles the ball past Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead (23) in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Starter: Dyson Daniels

Backups: CJ McCollum and Luke Kennard

Daniels has been getting better on offense as the year has gone on and he will continue to be one of the lead ball handlers for this team going forward.

McCollum is going to be the main backup to both guards and should see plenty of time off the bench for the Hawks.

It is going to be interesting to see how Kennard's minutes work out. Atlanta has added another shooter in Kispert, but Kispert has more size and while not a great defender, is better than Kennard. However, Kennard has been playing well as of late and might not see his minutes cut immediately.

Small Forward

Starter: Zaccharie Risacher

Backups: Vit Krejci and Corey Kispert

Kispert is an excellent shooter, but he is another player who is not going to bring a lot to the defense and it will be interesting to see how Quin Snyder elects to use him on this team.

Kispert seemingly fell out of favor in Washington, but might have more of a role in Atlanta. They needed more size and you can never have too much shooting. Again, I want to see if there is any overlap in Krejci's role and what they ask Kispert to do.

Risacher had perhaps his best game of the season last night, scoring 25 points against the New Orleans Pelicans and shooting the ball really well. He is a core member of the Hawks going forward and if he can keep improving, it might just make them a playoff team.

Power Forward

Jan 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) dribbles defended by New Orleans Pelicans guard Bryce McGowens (11) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Starter: Jalen Johnson

Backups: Kristaps Porzingis, Onyeka Okongwu, Mouhamed Gueye, and Asa Newell

Johnson is having an All-Star (All-NBA?) caliber of a season and now with Young traded away, he is now the face of the franchise.

He is going to continue to be the focal point of this organization going forward and it will be interesting to see how he responds to being the No. 1 franchise guy now, especially if the Hawks can find a way into the playoffs.

I list Porzingis and Okongwu here as the main backups because when Johnson, Porzingis, and Okongwu are healthy, they are going to soak up the minutes in the front court. Gueye and Newell have both played well at times this season, but when Okongwu and Porzingis are healthy, there is not a lot of room for them to get on the court.

Center

Starter: Onyeka Okongwu

Backups: Kristaps Porzingis, Mouhamed Gueye, and Asa Newell

Okongwu has been the starter even with Porzingis coming back from his illness and until Snyder deviates from that, I am going to project him as the starter.

Porzingis is still a high impact player when he is on the court for the Hawks, but is still playing with a minutes restriction. When either Porzingis or Okongwu is out, expect to see minutes for Gueye or Newell at the five, like they did last night when they started Gueye in place of Okongwu.

Overall, keep an eye on who starts between Alexander-Walker and McCollum and how Kispert fits in the rotation and if anyone's minutes end up getting squeezed, like Kennard.