Trae Young likely knew his days were numbered with the Atlanta Hawks.
For the last couple of weeks, the rumors were getting loud, as the Hawks were reportedly open to moving him. Eventually, Young embraced the idea.
In the hours leading up to the Hawks’ Wednesday night win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Young reportedly made it clear that he was open to getting traded to the Washington Wizards.
As the inactive Young sat on the bench with his Hawks teammates, he got the news. The star guard was moving up the map in the Eastern Conference, and the Hawks hadn’t even wrapped up their game yet.
“It’s very awkward, and in my opinion, very unprofessional to trade a player like that during the middle of a game,” Detroit Pistons legend
Isiah="" Thomas="" Trae="" Young="" being="" traded="" game.
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"Very unprofessional to trade a player during the middle of a game... The players' association needs to get a better handle on how trades are made... These are human beings."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 8, 2026
Isiah Thomas on Trae Young being traded during a game.
(Via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/zi8d36fV5L
Thomas knows the business well enough to understand that players have little control over when and where a deal gets done. At the same time, he came up in an era where news couldn’t spread as quickly as it does now with social media. Putting himself in the players’ shoes, Thomas believes there should be a better way to handle these situations.
Shedding more light on the situation, Thomas could help kickstart the conversation between the league and the players to help make some key changes moving forward.