Breaking News: Trae Young Reveals His Prefered Team for Trade Destination

Well, at least you can't call him a ring chaser. Trae Young, after asking for a trade from the Atlanta Hawks, has now revealed that the Washington Wizards are his No. 1 preferred destination. Wait, what?

Just in on NBA Today -- Atlanta Hawks four-time All-Star Trae Young has the Washington Wizards as his top desired destination: pic.twitter.com/lpMEftC4vv
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 7, 2026

It’s true. Insider Shams Charania is reporting that the multi-time All-Star guard has chosen the bottom-feeding Wizards as his team of choice. He is obviously not worried about championship rings.

Young's agent and the Hawks are working together to get a trade done, and the player's side would prefer it get done sooner rather than later. "There is traction on a deal," says Charania.

It does make some sense from the perspective that Travis Schlenk, a top executive with the Wizards, is the man who drafted Young with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft when he was with the Hawks.

With the Wizards, who are 10-25 but have some good young pieces in their rebuild, Young would come in and be the lead guard for the future there. Young is just 27, and presumably still in his prime. Top up-and-coming players like Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington, all 22 or younger, would have the benefit of a player who can get them the ball where they need it, as well as taking the pressure of opposing defenses off of them.

There were no title contenders with any interest in Trae, so he obviously pivoted to what he thought was the next best situation to be in — a young and growing team with which he can take all the shots he wants.

Now we'll have to wait and see if the Hawks & Wizards can come up with a deal that's suitable for both sides. It's possible that other teams may have to get involved.