Top Five Destinations That Make The Most Sense For Trae Young In A Trade

It seems like the Trae Young era is coming to an end in Atlanta, but where could he end up and what destinations make the most sense?

Dec 26, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) makes a pass against Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

The Trae Young era in Atlanta might be nearing its conclusion.

Yesterday, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Wizards were emerging as a legitimate trade candidate for Young, and shortly after, ESPN insider Shams Charania reported that Young and his agents are working with the Hawks to find him a trade out of Atlanta.

While there is still a month until the trade deadline, it does feel like there could be a solution at any point over the next month. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week, or it could be February 5th. It does feel like things are concluding, though, and this franchise is going to be going on a new path.

1. Washington Wizards

We have to start here.

In any trade talks or rumors about Trae Young, the Wizards rarely, if ever, came up. That changed yesterday when Stein reported that the Wizards had emerged as a legitimate destination for Young.

The Wizards have been tanking for the past couple of seasons and are one of the NBA's youngest teams. They have intriguing young players like Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, and Bilal Coulibaly and a couple of big expiring contracts with veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton.

It would not be hard to make a trade work with the Wizards. They could send McCollum plus Kispert for Young and a trade would be possible. While Kispert does not make a ton of money, one of the priorities for Hawks GM Onsi Saleh has been optionality and flexibility. Will the Hawks want to take on any long term money, even if it is not a huge contract? There are are other ways to make the money work and because they have been the only team mentioned as a legitimate destination for Young, the Wizards should be seen as the leaders in the clubhouse.

It would make some sense for the Hawks too. McCollum is an expiring deal and could help them on offense this season. If Kispert is in the deal, he improves the shooting quite a bit, but is a big defensive liability.

Any deal that sends Young elsewhere is going to be about prioritizing future space for the Hawks and the Wizards help them do that.

2. Milwaukee Bucks

Mar 30, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Bucks have not been mentioned much as a potential Trae Young destination, but it does not take a genius to connect the dots to them as a possibility.

Milwaukee appears to be set on keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo past the trade deadline and try to add talent around him in hopes of making a run in the Eastern Conference. While that might seem foolish, Milwaukee appears to be desperate to add any sort of talent around Giannis and Myles Turner, as they have been connected to Zach LaVine, and adding Young at a low price is not a terrible move from them.

It is hard to find a straight trade for Young that would work for Atlanta. The simplest one would be sending Young to the Bucks for Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis, and Gary Harris, but all three of those players have one more year left on their deal and are not exactly going to help the Hawks win. They could fit for the rest of the year, with Kuzma being a backup to Zaccharie Risacher (which the Hawks don't really have) and Portis would be a nice backup for Jalen Johnson, but would the Hawks want them on the team next year?

If Milwaukee threw in their unprotected 2031 1st round pick, that might be enticing enough for the Hawks to pull the trigger. I think if Milwaukee wants to trade for Young, it might need to be a multi team deal where the Bucks could send those players else where.

3. Toronto Raptors

While the Raptors have not been reported to have any interest in Young, he could be an appealing target for them.

Toronto has the length and athleticism to surround Young with and protect him on defense and he would be a great offensive creator and playmaker for this team, helping raise their ceiling on that end of the floor and making them a dangerous team in the playoffs.

However, there are potential obstacles that could get in the way. Does Toronto want Young, knowing it will take the ball out of Scottie Barnes hands more? Do the Hawks want Immanuel Quickley back in a deal (he has three years left on his deal after this season)?

I don't think Toronto is going to be interested in Young, but they make a moderate level of sense.

4. Portland Trail Blazers

Like Toronto, Portland has a lot of good defensive pieces that would help shield Young on defense and the Blazers need more offensive creation from their guards.

A trade with Portland would be complicated though due to the money and long term contracts that the Blazers would have to ship out. Would the Hawks be interested in a combo of Jerami Grant and Robert Williams for Young? Grant has two more years left on his deal and would not really fit with the Hawks. Williams is an expiring deal.

Also, Portland has a complicated situation with their current guards. They have Jrue Holiday, who provides defensive value, but also has two years left on his deal after this. They also have Damian Lillard and Scoot Henderson, both of whom have not played this season.

On the surface, Portland makes some sense, but I don't get the feeling that the Hawks would want anyone one their roster that they would be willing to give up. Maybe a third team would want Grant (Milwaukee has been linked to him), but I find this unlikely.

5. Phoenix

Jan 14, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) drives to the basket against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Like Milwaukee, the Suns have not been mentioned as a real Trae Young destination, but it makes some sense.

Like the Bucks, the Suns have limited options to add talent and could be in the market for a star like Young who has limited value across the league and it would not take much to acquire him. Now unlike the Bucks, Phoenix has been overachieving this season and look like a playoff team. Despite their loss to Houston last night, Phoenix is 7th in the Western Conference and only three games out of being in third place.

Phoenix does not own its own draft pick until 2032 and is going to have to get creative in its attempt to build around Devin Booker, who was signed to a big extension over the summer. A simple trade of Jalen Green (played in two games all season) and Khaman Maluach (who has only played in 16 games, averaging 4.7 minutes per game) could land the Suns Young.

Now, would a backcourt of Young and Booker have its own challenges? Certainly, but neither Green or Maluach are contributing much this season. Phoenix is relying on Mark Williams and Nick Richards at center and their offense would be much better with Young.

The Hawks reportedly like Maluach ahead of the draft, but would they want Green and the remaining years on his contract? Maybe not, but I think Phoenix is an underdiscussed spot for Young.