Adobe is pulling the plug on Adobe Animate. In a FAQ posted to Adobe’s website, the company says it will stop selling the animation software on March 1st, citing the emergence of new platforms “that better serve the needs of the users.”
Users have until March 1st, 2027 (or March 1st, 2029 for enterprise customers) to access and download files from Animate, as they’ll no longer be available after this time. The app will be available to download until those deadlines, and Adobe will continue providing support during that period.
Adobe Animate’s history dates back to 1996, when FutureWave Software launched the vector graphics application, originally called FutureSplash Animator, as a tool to create vector-based animations. Though Macromedia acquired the tool later that year and renamed it Flash, Adobe purchased the company in 2005 and began calling the app Adobe Flash Professional. Adobe announced plans to rebrand the app to Adobe Animate in 2015 as the web began phasing out Flash.
Though Adobe says Creative Cloud Pro customers can use other apps to “replace portions of Animate functionality,” such as Adobe After Effects or Adobe Express, many userswho still use Animate are frustrated with its imminent shutdown. The creators behind the short-form animated series, Chikn Nuggit, write in a post on X that they still use Adobe Animate to make the show. “This decision would not only harm countless jobs in the industry but render so much past creations as lost media,” the post reads. David Firth, the creator of Salad Fingers, also says he still uses the app to make the grotesque series.
Megacharlie, a technical artist for Jackbox Games, adds that the app “is used in many high-budget television cartoon productions, film and animation studios, game studios big and small, not to mention the 1000s of indie creators who still make use of it daily.”
No plans on Valentine’s Day? You don’t need to worry about it when there are so many romance books to fill your day with instead!
We found titles loved by #BookTok, recent releases, and even a few that are Valentine’s Day themed, all perfect for snuggling up with (in the cutest pajamas of course) on February 14.
Some are sweet, some are a little spicy, and some are both! Whatever you decide to pick up, these books are also all available on Audible, if an audiobook is more your thing. You can even sign up for a free trial to test things out!
Check out all of the romance books you should be reading on Valentine’s Day, below.
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There had never been a trade like it in NBA history.
A perennial MVP candidate being blindsided and sent away midseason? In the season after carrying his franchise to the NBA Finals? As he’s approaching his prime?
One year later, the deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers is still a stunner. And people around the league are still scratching their heads about the Dallas Mavericks getting what’s widely perceived as a pennies-on-the-dollar return, with all due respect to 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis.
“I’ve never seen a transaction that caused so much collective shock and confusion around the league,” a prominent agent, who didn’t have a client involved in the deal, recently told ESPN.
Our NBA insiders tackle four of the biggest questions facing the Lakers, Mavericks and the rest of the league on the one-year anniversary of one of the NBA’s most stunning deals.
Are the Lakers any closer to a title one year after the trade?
Hours before the trade went down last season, a Lakers’ win over the New York Knicks on Feb. 1 lifted their record to 28-19. This season, they came into New York on Feb. 1 with a nearly identical 29-18 record.
Does that mean the trade was a wash? Well, of course not.
The similar records have more to do with Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves playing only eight games together this season because of injuries.
If there hadn’t been a trade, and Davis’ body suffered the same string of injuries over the past year — he has played 29 games total as a Maverick, while Doncic has played in 67 for the Lakers over two seasons — Los Angeles’ struggles this season could have been far more pronounced than they’ve been thus far.
It’s hard to see the Lakers as a contender — even with Doncic leading the league in scoring with 33.7 points per game — unless they can dramatically improve upon their 25th-ranked defensive rating.
That isn’t to say the Lakers can’t improve upon their spot in the West — they sit in fifth as Doncic, James and Reaves have returned to the court again. It isn’t suggesting that they won’t be a tough out in the playoffs, either, with those three calling the shots.
But, the only way this team gets significantly closer to a title this season is if it can pull off another early February trade ahead of Thursday’s deadline to address its 3-and-D deficiencies. — Dave McMenamin
How do the Mavericks move on from the short-lived AD era?
The “AD era” never really started in Dallas.
The second half of last season was an extended mourning period for Mavs fans. It took a remarkable stroke of lottery luck to resuscitate any hope for enthusiastic support from the morose fan base.
As soon as the Mavs cashed in those 1.8% odds to win the No. 1 pick, it was clear that Cooper Flagg — not Davis — would be the franchise’s priority for the foreseeable future. Then the early-season firing of general manager Nico Harrison eliminated any doubt about the direction of the franchise.
In that sense, the Mavericks have moved on. Every personnel decision from this point will be viewed through the prism of maximizing the Mavericks’ potential to build around their teenage prodigy and his future.
That’s why the Mavs have spent the past few months exploring the trade market for the 32-year-old Davis, who clearly doesn’t fit the franchise’s long-term outlook.
Dallas — and specifically governor Patrick Dumont, who makes the franchise’s final decisions — needs to determine the threshold for pulling the lever on a Davis trade.
The ideal return in a Davis deal includes first-round draft compensation, young talent and financial relief in the form of expiring contracts. But don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen before the deadline as Davis recovers from yet another injury — ligament damage in his left hand is expected to sideline him until at least late this month.
There are some within the organization who would be in favor of trading Davis even if the return is only expiring contracts, simply because they value the flexibility it would give the franchise as it builds around Flagg.
That idea would be hard to sell to Dumont, who feels no pressure to trade Davis now, sources told ESPN. — Tim MacMahon
How has the trade affected this year’s deadline?
To start, the architect of the trade, Mavericks GM Harrison, was fired in November.
With Harrison no longer in charge, the “win now” time frame — centered on Irving and Davis — is replaced with a focus on retooling the roster around Flagg and a potential lottery pick in June’s draft.
A decision on Davis’ future probably will wait until the offseason but that doesn’t rule out the Mavericks exploring options to reduce payroll in the future and opening a roster spot to convert two-way player Ryan Nembhard.
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Windhorst: Mavs fired Nico Harrison to ‘save their brand’
Brian Windhorst explains the reactions and reasoning to the decision to dismiss GM Nico Harrison.
As for the Lakers, the Doncic trade has them operating on two timelines at the deadline.
The current timeline is adding to a roster with Doncic, James and Reaves while focusing on financial flexibility in future years. The Lakers have over $40 million of expiring contracts consisting of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber. They also have a 2031 or 2032 first-round pick to trade if needed. The future timeline is building a roster around Doncic and Reaves.
With Doncic under contract for the next three seasons, the Lakers could have up to $50 million in cap space this offseason and nearly double that amount in 2027.
They will also have three first-rounders (2026, 2031 and 2033) available to trade starting the night of the draft. — Bobby Marks
What are league insiders saying one year later?
The consistent theme I get back from people around the NBA whenever the trade comes up is the ongoing amazement that it happened — as well as how Dallas might dig its way out of the aftermath.
Harrison was fired as a result of the deal and the fallout from it, but Davis’ future is an ongoing talking point — his value is nowhere near what it was perceived to be when Harrison made him the centerpiece of the deal.
Fortunately for the Mavericks, they did get lucky to land Flagg in last year’s draft. Without Flagg, the franchise would be a desolate wasteland in a consistently competitive Western Conference.
At several points over the past few months, sources have reiterated to ESPN some variation of, “Can you imagine where Dallas would be if it hadn’t won the lottery?”
On the other side of the deal, the Lakers continue to be a work in progress. The irony of the Doncic trade is that over the couple of years preceding it, Dallas had done an excellent job surrounding him with exactly the sort of talent required to maximize his skills: a pair of rim-running, shot-blocking centers; 3-and-D guards and forwards to play defense and hit 3s around him; and another high-level shot creator to take pressure off him when he’s on the court while running the team when he’s not.
Los Angeles has the last part in Reaves (if he’s retained as a free agent this summer), but they are essentially starting from scratch on the rest of it.
And while they are the Lakers, and they’ll have cap space to build this team around Doncic, putting together a championship-level team in the West is a lot easier said than done. — Tim Bontemps
Reports of Bill Gates’ connections with Jeffrey Epstein grow more lurid with each dump of documents from the Department of Justice. The latest includes somewhat confusing emails that Epstein may have been drafting on behalf of someone named Boris, who worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The messages claim that Bill contracted an STD and wanted to “surreptitiously” give Melinda antibiotics. It also claims that Bill had “trysts” with married women and “Russian girls.”
“These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
It’s unclear who the Boris referenced in the emails is, or if the messages were ever sent to anyone. Only Epstein is listed in the to and from fields.
Gates’ relationship with Epstein has become a major issue for the billionaire philanthropist. He initially downplayed his connections, but documents have suggested the two were closer than Gates admitted. He has repeatedly denied associating with Epstein outside of fundraising and philanthropic efforts and said their meetings were a “huge mistake.” However, Melinda Gates has stated that Bill’s association with Epstein played a role in her decision to file for divorce.
Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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Alexander Volkanovski put to bed any suggestion that his win over Diego Lopes last April was a fluke when he defeated Lopes again at UFC 325 in Sydney on Saturday. With that settled, attention now turns to who could beat Volkanovski. Two names immediately come to mind, but to get to Volk, they might have to go through one another.
With big wins of their own, lightweights Benoît Saint Denis, Mauricio Ruffy and Quillan Salkilld each took major steps toward establishing themselves among the division’s elite. Lucky for them, matchmaking options are plentiful at 155 pounds. Take a look at who we foresee as the next opponents for the stars of UFC 325.
The UFC hasn’t announced a bout between Evloev and Murphy, but it’s a strong possibility — and at this point, it makes sense. Volkanovski likes quick turnarounds, but at 37 years old, it would be appropriate for him to take time before jumping right back into camp. And to make Volkanovski’s next title defense as big as possible, let’s be honest, Evloev and Murphy both need a win first. They’re both deserving of a title shot, but neither fighter is terribly exciting at the moment. Perhaps a fight between them would give UFC fans a true, exciting, No. 1 contender.
Wild card: Evloev
If Volkanovski decides he really wants to fight again in a matter of months, he would need a challenger. And even though Evloev hasn’t fought in over a year, he is the No. 1 contender, and Volkanovski wants to face him.
There’s animosity between these two, dating back to a news conference last spring when they went back and forth over Lopes’ ties to Mexico. Rodriguez has had trouble staying active throughout his career and he has been dealing with a hand injury as of late. But if he can be ready to go in a reasonable time frame, this is 100 percent the fight to make.
Especially if Vallejos beats Emmett. Vallejos looks like a juggernaut, with knockouts in two of his first three UFC appearances. If he were to knock out Emmett in his first UFC main event, the UFC would have a hard time fighting the temptation to turn him loose against the top of the division. Stylistically, Lopes vs. Vallejos would be a home run, featuring two of the hardest hitters in the division. And to be clear, Lopes vs. Emmett would be just fine as well. Emmett is 40 years old, so he’s looking to make the biggest moves possible, as soon as possible. If he stops the hype that’s behind Vallejos, why not elevate him to a big opportunity, knowing he’s on borrowed time?
Anything outside of a title opportunity feels like a slight to Tsarukyan, but that’s where we’re at. He’s not getting a title shot next, outside of something really wild taking place. So, what then? Saint Denis has now entered similar territory. It doesn’t make sense for him to fight down in the rankings, other than simply to stay active. It’s not a perfect situation for either of these guys, frankly. The entire division is logjammed, with champion Ilia Topuria on a leave of absence, an interim belt in the mix and two monster names, Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway, still ranked in the top 5. Unless Saint Denis and Tsarukyan both want to sit and wait, they’ll need to keep taking fights, and this one undoubtedly makes the most sense.
Wild card: Winner of Oliveira vs. Holloway at UFC 326
This fight is doubtful because I don’t see Oliveira or Holloway having any interest in it. Sometimes the UFC will try to force a matchup, but I don’t think even the promotion would see sense in this one. The winner of the BMF title fight at UFC 326 will absolutely be looking for a bigger fight than Saint Denis — but depending on what happens, they might not have a choice. For his part, Saint Denis was smart to call for the BMF winner in his postfight interview.
I feel bad about this suggestion because Chandler deserves better. We all know it. Chandler played every card right in terms of getting a bout with Conor McGregor, but McGregor took too long, and some of the steam he built is gone. Is it the “right thing” for the UFC to book Chandler a fight with McGregor? Yes, it is. Are there other great options to pair McGregor against? Yes, of course. If Chandler doesn’t get the McGregor fight, he’s likely looking at a matchup like Ruffy — a dangerous fighter, who has more to gain than Chandler. As unfair as that might be for Chandler, it’s a great proposition for Ruffy. Ruffy has all the potential in the world, despite losing to Benoît Saint Denis last year, and this is the kind of matchup that could catapult his popularity.
Ruffy called out the likes of McGregor and Paddy Pimblett, which is smart and might come to fruition. At the moment, I don’t see either lining up. So if Ruffy can’t get the big name (throw Chandler in there as well), the next best thing is to continue to solidify himself as a legitimate contender against the established names of the division. Dariush is as established as they come, even though he’s likely near the end of his career. Dariush needs to defend his ranking, and Ruffy is one of the bigger figures knocking on the door.
How much hype can one fight have, right? It’s hard to temper excitement for a young talent such as Salkilld. He’s a well-rounded finisher with plenty of charisma — and has performed well under the spotlight. The UFC has a million matchmaking options for Salkilld and might elect to take the slow approach. Personally, I wouldn’t. A matchup against another high-octane finisher such as Torres would be electrifying and could already serve as a main event. Torres is 5-1 in the UFC with five first-round knockouts. The UFC is always in need of a star, and one way or another, a star would emerge from this matchup.
Not too long ago, Turner was being viewed as a potential title hopeful. Then he lost four of five fights and even “retired” for a minute before getting back in the win column in December against Edson Barboza. Is Turner back for real and ready to make a run, or is he on borrowed time, less than a year removed from announcing an MMA departure? We could find out in a matchup like this.
Indeed, the “Abracadabra” singer took home the trophy for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2026 Grammys—hosted by Trevor Noah at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles Feb. 1—and a magical shoutout to her fiancé Michael Polansky, who she kissed before walking on stage.
“I have to say thank you first to my partner, Michael,” Gaga said while accepting the award. “You are by my side every single day in a way that I can’t thank you enough for, and you worked so hard with me on this record all year.”
The 39-year-old—whose fiancé is nominated alongside her for Album of the Year, since he is listed as a songwriter on Mayhem—added, “So, I love you and thank you.”
Gaga—who is nominated in seven categories at the awards show, including Record and Song of the Year—also gave some words of encouragement to her fellow women in music.
“I know sometimes when you’re in the studio with a bunch of guys, it can be hard,” she continued. “I urge you to always listen to yourself and always fight for your ideas, fight for your songs, fight for yourself as a producer. Make sure that you are heard loudly.”
Of course, in addition to supporting women, Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta) has made a habit of giving Michael his flowers for helping her create the album, even before the Grammys.
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Grade for Cleveland: B+ Grade for Sacramento: C Grade for Chicago: A
What this deal means for the Cavaliers: Ellis improbably became one of the most in-demand players at the deadline while playing a smaller role than last season because of his minimum salary and combined with a 3-and-D skill set that fits better on a contending team than it did in Sacramento.
In part, Ellis’ role has shrunk because he hasn’t shot the ball as well as last season, when he hit an effective 64% of his shots when accounting for the added value of 3-point attempts. This season, he has slumped to 37% on 3s and just 46% inside the arc, both his lowest marks in a full season. (He played just 71 minutes in 2022-23 as an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract.)
Over the full sample of his career, Ellis is at 42% on 3s and 56.5% for 2s for 61% effective shooting that makes him one of the league’s most efficient perimeter role players. At 6-foot-4, he also has the size to defend either backcourt spot and particularly excels on the ball with his quickness. He has defended the opposing player who brings the ball up on 24% of his defensive possessions this season, according to GeniusIQ tracking.
I particularly like how Ellis will fit alongside Donovan Mitchell, who has played nearly as much point guard this season as he has off the ball as Darius Garland has experienced toe injuries. Ellis can free Mitchell from having to defend ball handlers in those lineups while also spacing the floor at the other end.
It’s less clear how Schroder fits in, particularly if Garland is able to get healthy. The Cavaliers are adding Ellis and Schroder to a backcourt that includes All-Stars in Garland and Mitchell, an ace outside shooter in Sam Merrill, a capable backup point guard in Craig Porter Jr. and a veteran in Lonzo Ball. It’s unlikely Schroder will play anywhere near as much as with the Kings, for whom he averaged 26.4 minutes per game despite losing his starting job to Russell Westbrook.
From a financial standpoint, Cleveland has significantly cut its luxury tax bill, saving nearly $40 million in tax payments alone by rerouting Saric to Chicago. Perhaps more importantly, the Cavaliers have moved within striking distance of going under the second-apron threshold, a necessity if they want to aggregate salaries before the deadline.
Before, accomplishing that might have required shedding Hunter’s full $23.3 million salary, which was too big for any team to take into cap space or a trade exception. By cutting nearly $7 million in salary, Cleveland could now duck the second apron by dealing either Schroder ($14.1 million) or Max Strus ($15.9 million) without taking back contracts, giving the franchise more options to pursue a star.
Down the road, Cleveland’s roster could get more expensive if the team re-signs Ellis. Schroder will make $10 million less than Hunter for 2026-27, which might not cover Ellis’ starting salary on an extension or a new contract as an unrestricted free agent. Schroder also has $4.35 million of his 2027-28 salary guaranteed, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, while Hunter’s contract will be up after next season.
Those are concerns for another day.
The most realistic way for the Cavaliers to save money remains Mitchell leaving as an unrestricted free agent in 2027, when he holds a $53.8 million player option. That’s the scenario they hope to avoid. Strengthening a team that is tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference after finishing atop the standings a season ago is the best way to keep Mitchell. This trade is a step forward in that regard — and, perhaps, a step toward a bigger one by Thursday’s deadline.
What this deal means for the Kings: This deal is a tough reminder of the Kings’ missteps last summer, when they were still hoping to compete for the postseason before new general manager Scott Perry shifted his focus to building something more sustainable, as he described last month to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.
In order to add Schroder as an unrestricted free agent via sign-and-trade without pushing into the luxury tax, Sacramento had to cut salary. That meant dealing Jonas Valanciunas to the Denver Nuggets for Saric, a move that backfired when Valanciunas subsequently signaled a desire to walk away from his contract for an offer from Greek power Panathinaikos. (The Nuggets, who wanted Valanciunas, ended up denying that request.)
Saric ultimately played just five games with the Kings, while Schroder has started only twice since Nov. 12. (Those ended up being Schroder’s final two games with Sacramento, ironically, with Westbrook sidelined by a foot contusion.)
Adding those two newcomers into a deal for Hunter ended up costing the Kings the two second-round picks in this trade, which are instead headed to the Bulls despite Ellis being the single most valuable player who changed teams.
On the plus side, Sacramento is getting Hunter at a low point in his value. A year ago, the Cavaliers gave up three second-round picks and a pair of first-round swaps in order to add him for the stretch run. At the time, he was shooting a career-high 39% from 3-point range, and he improved after joining Cleveland to shot 46% in the playoffs. This season, Hunter is hitting a career-low 31% of 3s and has seen his playing time decline to 22.4 minutes per game in January.
A 37% career 3-point shooter, Hunter should be more accurate with the Kings, and his ability to play both forward spots is a good fit for a team short on frontcourt size. Adding his $24.9 million salary for 2026-27 will push Sacramento into the luxury tax for now, but the franchise will have plenty of opportunity to cut its payroll between now and then. In the worst-case scenario, the partial guarantee on DeMar DeRozan‘s salary ($10 million) should get the Kings safely under the tax line.
If Hunter plays well enough, he could go back to being a deadline pickup for a contending team next year.
What this deal means for the Bulls: Credit the Bulls for being in position to take advantage of the need for a third team to take back Saric’s salary in this deal. When Chicago and Sacramento were part of a three-team trade in 2024 sending DeMar DeRozan to the Kings and Harrison Barnes to the Spurs, the Bulls’ precarious tax position prevented them from getting the best draft pick in the deal — a first-round swap in 2031 that San Antonio got for taking on Barnes’ salary.
Sitting more than $13 million below the tax line this season, Chicago could use the remaining portion of a trade exception created in yet another Bulls-Kings-Spurs three-team deal (the one sending Zach LaVine to Sacramento almost exactly a year ago) in order to take on Saric’s $5.4 million salary.
The only cost for Chicago is a roster spot. The Bulls will have to waive a player to add Saric, with little-used guard Jevon Carter a likely candidate in the last season of his contract. If they don’t include Saric in a subsequent trade, a buyout seems likely after the deadline, leaving them with a couple of extra second-round picks for their trouble.
What this deal means for the Hawks: Less than five years ago, the Hawks reached the 2021 conference finals behind a star-making performance from Young, who averaged 28.8 PPG and 9.5 APG in the playoffs at age 22. It seemed like the start of a run for Atlanta, which had just one key player older than 27. Instead, the Young-era Hawks had already peaked.
Quickly eliminated from the playoffs in 2022 and 2023, Atlanta has yet to get back. The Hawks opened this season with high expectations after adding Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis, but Atlanta went 2-8 in the 10 games Young played this season, leading to this franchise-altering deal.
The Hawks defending better with Young on the bench is certainly nothing new. That’s been the case throughout his career. According to Cleaning the Glass data, which filters out garbage time, 2022-23 is the only season the Hawks haven’t allowed at least two points per 100 possessions more with Young on the court than on the bench.
Historically, that’s been counterbalanced by the enormous boost Young provides the Atlanta offense. Flipping that stat, 2023-24 is the only season Atlanta hasn’t scored at least five more points per 100 possessions offensively with Young on the court. That actually hasn’t changed at all this season, despite the emergence of Jalen Johnson as an All-Star. The Hawks are scoring 9.2 more points per 100 possessions with Young, which ranks in the 95th percentile leaguewide.
The issue is twofold: Atlanta is defending better with Young on the bench, and much worse with him on the court.
The latter factor is probably random noise. Based on GeniusIQ’s quantified shot probability measure (qSP), which measures the expected effective field goal percentage (eFG%) given the location and type of shot, distance of nearby defenders and player ability, Hawks opponents get slightly better shots when Young plays. Atlanta’s qSP on defense goes from 54% without Young, which would rank 12th in the league, to 56.6% with him. That would rank 29th, ahead of only the New Orleans Pelicans.
Still, the actual shooting difference without Young is more than three times larger. Hawks opponents shoot a 63% eFG% with Young on the court and just 54% with him on the bench. The shot quality differential is more in line with Young’s typical defensive impact, and the shotmaking is likely a fluke.
The bigger factor going forward is that Atlanta has found a way to survive without Young. The Hawks’ minus-0.4 net rating this season is their best when Young sits at any point in his career. And although that kind of break-even play is not good enough to escape the play-in, remember that it comes with zero contributions from Young’s roster spot. Replacing him with McCollum should help the Hawks be more competitive the rest of the season.
The Atlanta offense has still ranked around league average so long as Johnson has been on the court. It’s when the Hawks play with neither Johnson nor Young that their offense craters to 107.8 points per 100 possessions according to Cleaning the Glass, which ranks in the 7th percentile leaguewide.
Starting guards Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels supply enough playmaking in concert with Johnson as a point forward to keep the Atlanta offense flowing. But without a third capable ballhandler in the backcourt, the Hawks’ second units have struggled badly. McCollum should lift those groups.
In particular, Atlanta will benefit from McCollum’s ability to create his own shot. According to GeniusIQ, he has shot an effective 51.5% on half-court shots that are neither an assist opportunity nor a putback. Onyeka Okongwu (50.5%) is the only player on the Hawks above 46% eFG% on at least 50 such attempts, and his shot volume is nearly as high as McCollum’s.
There might be a role for Kispert, too, although his skill set overlaps with that of Atlanta reserve Luke Kennard. Kispert is a more capable defender and younger at 26. He’s under contract through 2028-29, whereas Kennard is on a one-year deal.
Looking forward, this trade gives Atlanta the ability to reshape its roster. The Hawks no longer have any player making more than $31 million at any point during his contract. They can re-sign or extend McCollum (and potentially Porzingis, depending on his health) and have ample flexibility to add to the roster this summer without threatening the luxury tax.
In the longer term, Atlanta is betting on the development of Johnson — a good bet to make his All-Star debut — and the draft picks the team has coming to supply needed shot creation. The Hawks have the better of first-round picks this year from the Milwaukee Bucks and Pelicans thanks to their trade on 2025 draft night.
Only the Indiana Pacers have a worse record than the Pelicans, and the Bucks would also be in the lottery if the season ended today. Projections using ESPN’s Basketball Power Index give Atlanta the No. 1 pick via that trade in 15% of simulations.
If the Hawks can find another star through the draft, they’ve collected enough quality role players with an emphasis on defense to build around them better than they could Young. That offers hope for a new era in Atlanta.
Surely, the Hawks hoped they could get some pick value in return for Young. That Atlanta was willing to make this deal without any reflects how difficult the trade market is for max-level players who aren’t inner-circle stars. Given that reality, the Hawks not having to include picks to incentivize taking on Young’s 2026-27 player option isn’t such a bad thing.
What this deal means for the Wizards: Since hiring Michael Winger and Will Dawkins to lead their front office in 2023, the Wizards have been one of the NBA’s most patient teams, accumulating young talent without a clear path toward competing for a playoff spot. Trading for Young is a course correction that signals Washington is heading into a new phase of its rebuild.
It would be interesting to know how much the Wizards’ recent success played into that decision. Since starting the season 1-15, Washington has gone 9-10, including five wins in the past seven games. That might have suggested to Wizards management that simply playing out the season and collecting another lottery pick was no longer a certainty because they owe their pick to the New York Knicks if it falls outside the top eight.
More broadly, Washington might be at the point where supporting the development of its young talent — most notably starters Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr, all of them 22 or younger — with capable veterans is appropriate. We’ve seen how that accelerated the progress of the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons in recent seasons.
I’m not sure Young is a natural fit in that role. He’s an outstanding passer who led the NBA with 11.6 APG last season, but that came in the context of Young dominating the ball in a way the veterans Houston and Detroit added did not.
Young’s 5.7 minutes time of possession this season, per GeniusIQ tracking on NBA Advanced Stats, is more than McCollum (4.5) in fewer minutes per game. He has held the ball approximately 41% of the time the Hawks have been on offense, as compared with approximately 29% for McCollum with the Wizards. Fred VanVleet, the point guard Houston added at a similar stage, had approximately 35% time of possession during his first season with the Rockets.
Given Coulibaly, George and Sarr will likely end up primarily in off-ball roles, that might work out if they’re OK handling the ball less. Young will be a more dangerous pick-and-roll playmaker than Washington has had since prime John Wall. The Wizards are 25th in points per chance off pick-and-rolls this season. Young ranked 12th in 2024-25 in points per chance among ballhandlers who received at least 1,000 screens.
The trickier fit is Young with second-year guard Bub Carrington, who has played both on and off the ball in his NBA career. Adding Young might push Carrington more toward shooting guard, where Washington already has rookie lottery pick Tre Johnson.
More than anything else, this is probably a value play for the Wizards. Despite his defensive limitations, Young is still a four-time All-Star because of the way he lifted Atlanta offensively. Young picking up his $49 million player option for 2026-27 — perhaps in the context of an extension beyond next season — won’t be an issue for a Washington team that was looking at $90-plus million in cap space, pending the Wizards retaining their draft pick. They’ll still have max-level room to either add supporting veterans or take on contracts for draft compensation.
Acquiring Young now gives Washington three months to evaluate how he and the team’s young players fit together before building around them this offseason. If dealing for Young was the centerpiece of Washington’s efforts to move toward competitiveness, I’d be concerned. As a starting point in that process, it makes more sense.
“We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI. I believe in OpenAI, the work that they do is incredible, they are one of the most consequential companies of our time and I really love working with Sam,” he said, referring to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
“Sam is closing the round (of investment) and we will absolutely be involved,” Huang added. “We will invest a great deal of money, probably the largest investment we’ve ever made.”
