Hawks Focusing on Anthony Davis After Dumping Trae Young to Wizards

January 08, 2026 ,




 Now that the Atlanta Hawks have cleared themselves of Trae Young and his $48 million, their next order of business, according to reports, is to trade for Anthony Davis. 

Young was sent to the Washington Wizards late Wednesday night in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. 

McCollum is a dependable veteran scorer in the backcourt who is on an expiring contract, while Kispert is also a solid shooter, on a very reasonable contract.

Most importantly, Atlanta created plenty of financial flexibility. And it sounds like they have a plan on how to spend it to boost their frontcourt.

With the permanent absence of Young now, The Hawks are focused on further bolstering their defence, which made a big jump this season when Trae was out of the lineup for so many weeks. 

AD, of course, would take that defence to an elite level — provided he can stay on the floor. Davis has spent a large portion of the past several seasons on the sidelines with injuries. 

“They are going to pursue Anthony Davis as a prime trade target with the Mavericks,” said insider Shams Charania on ESPN. “This pursuit of Anthony Davis is really made possible because you get rid of this salary of Trae Young moving forward.”

He expects something to happen before the trade deadline in less than four weeks.

Photo:  Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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