On Jan. 9, the Atlanta Hawks sent Trae Young away and brought back CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert in a move that looked like a salary dump. Three months later, McCollum was the player carrying Atlanta when it mattered most, scoring 32 points and making the shot that put the Hawks ahead for good in a playoff win at Madison Square Garden.
The Hawks’ victory in Game 2 left the series tied as it headed back to Atlanta, and McCollum had 58 points across the first two games. Onsi Saleh said he did not expect the 13-year veteran to take over the series the way he has, saying he was not expecting him to be the type of player he’s been over the last two games and adding that McCollum’s efficiency has been so good that he has taken over in a dramatic way.
That is what made the January trade so surprising. In early January, McCollum was being dismissed by pundits as an expiring contract, a 34-year-old with a $31 million salary in a deal widely framed as a salary move rather than a playoff swing. Atlanta was sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, and Washington was committed to losing games in pursuit of a high draft pick, which made the return look modest at the time.
Now the trade reads differently. McCollum is not just a scorer; he is giving a young group a model for how to survive a playoff game on the road. Saleh said McCollum helps the Hawks’ core understand how to win playoff games, a point that carries extra weight with players who are 24, 23 and 27 years old and learning how thin the margin gets in April.
Saleh said he was not surprised by McCollum’s confidence or his ability to do what he is doing, but he also admitted he did not expect this level of takeover. The distinction matters. Atlanta did not acquire McCollum with the expectation that he would become the center of a postseason run, but that is exactly what has happened, and the Hawks now head home with the series even and the veteran guard in control of the conversation.
For Atlanta, the January 9 trade has already outgrown its original label. What looked like a low-profile reset has become the move that may have changed the shape of the postseason.
