‘I’m Excited For Him’: Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Dončić Reacts To Trae Young Being Traded To Washington Wizards From Atlanta Hawks
After the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday (1/7), Luka Dončić was asked by NBA reporter Dave McMenamin of ESPN about the blockbuster Trae Young trade between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards.
Dončić and Young will always be linked since they were traded for each other on draft night back in 2018.
The Dallas Mavericks traded Dončić to the Lakers last season. Now, the Hawks have traded Young to the Wizards.
Dončić and Young continue to have things in common in their respective NBA careers, as both players have been traded by the franchise that they brought back to relevance. The difference is that Dončić didn’t want to get traded by the Mavericks, while Young worked with the Hawks to get traded to the Wizards.
Young is making $45.9 million this season. The Oklahoma product can become an unrestricted free agent next offseason by declining his 2026-27 player option worth $48.9 million.
A four-time All-Star, Young is averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists per game this season. The Hawks were only 2-8 with him in the lineup.
The 27-year-old Young has career averages of 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game. He doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, but the Hawks wanted to send him somewhere he wanted to be.
Washington is 28th in the NBA in attendance. Young is one of the most exciting players to watch in the league, so the Wizards could see an increase in attendance with the talented scorer and passer in the fold.
The Wizards haven’t been to the playoffs since 2021. They are in deep rebuild mode, but that rebuild has now been accelerated a bit after acquiring Young.
Young and the Wizards take on Dončić and the Lakers on January 30 in Washington. Los Angeles then hosts Washington on March 30.
The Hawks are 18-21 on the season, the Wizards are 10-26 and the Lakers are 23-12. Dončić leads the NBA in points per game. He’s averaging 33.7 points per contest.
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