In his first media availability since the trade of four-time All-Star Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh on Monday thanked Young for all he did for the franchise but said the Hawks liked the players they got back and weren’t the type of team to wait if they had a good deal.
The trade late last week, which leaked near the end of Atlanta’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday but didn’t become official until Friday, sent Young to the Washington Wizards for 34-year-old guard CJ McCollum and reserve forward Corey Kispert. Around the NBA, it was widely viewed as a salary dump to avoid Young’s $49 million player option for next season.
“If there are deals to be done, why wait, is my philosophy,” said Saleh, who replaced Landry Fields in April. “If you like something that makes a lot of sense, we’re going to do that. We just do what’s best for our organization. And, you know, I’m not one to really wait on anything like that. Trae has been so huge in our community.
“Him and (his wife) Shelby, what they’ve done, we just wish them the best. They’ve been phenomenal for our organization. (We’re) talking about a guy that’s been the face of our franchise for quite a long time. I really wish him the best, and he’s going to do some cool stuff over there, too.”
“But we like the trade, and what we did was something we really thought would help us now and in the future,” Saleh added. “The players coming back, I think they’re excellent fits with us and make a lot of sense for us, and we get deep in our rotation, too. I think you guys kind of saw a little bit of that last night (in a 124-111 win over the Golden State Warriors).”
Removing Young’s $49 million contract from next season’s books also gives the Hawks considerable offseason flexibility, including the possibility of being a cap-room team in 2026-27, and Saleh didn’t deny that was part of the trade logic.
“When we go through all the calculus of making the deal, there’s elements of the financial flexibility, the optionality, which is huge for us, but also (liking) the players we’re getting back,” Saleh said. “And just having that optionality in this current cap environment, you guys are seeing it. You guys have seen the repercussions of it and the consequences if you’re not diligent in how you spend, in your cap space.”
The emergence of young stars Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, in particular, served as catalysts for the trade. Although Young had played in only 10 games due to an early-season knee injury, the core had proven in his absence that it could still thrive.
“We’ve learned a lot about our team this year,” Saleh said. “I think you guys have to, right? Watching our group and the evolution of the guys that we have out there and the youth movement that we’ve got going on as well. I think, again, the emergence of some players on our group, and how it all fits together was really key here …. It was just the right move for us.”
“Jalen’s game has evolved so much, and he’s doing some amazing things on the court. Most importantly, I think he’s making his teammates better as well,” he added. “And that’s how we kind of look at this as like as the group grows. It’s the group, it’s not simply just one player either, right? It’s Jalen, it’s Dyson (Daniels), it’s Onyeka (Okongwu), it’s Zacch (Risacher), it’s Nickeil. We got two guys, Nickeil and Jalen, who have just made tremendous leaps, and when Dyson’s on the ball, we’ve seen that leap as well. So, again, it just comes down to what we’re seeing and how this fits the entire group rather than one person.”
Finally, Saleh wouldn’t comment on a possible extension for McCollum, whose deal expires after the season.
“We’ll see where that all goes as the season comes along, but CJ’s been awesome,” Saleh said. “He’s somebody that I think could fit here long term as well. I’m really, really excited about having him here. But yeah, I can’t really say anything about extension talks and negotiations.”
