The Washington Wizards made the first major move of NBA Trade Season 2026 when they acquired Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks, instantly shaking up the Eastern Conference and signaling that the franchise is serious about reshaping its roster for the future.

For Washington, the deal made perfect sense, bringing in a four-time All-Star and one of the league’s most skilled and high-usage guards, someone capable of being both a statistical anchor and a tradeable asset, while giving them flexibility to build around him.

The trade would have made sense for the Chicago Bulls as well, but in what has become a pattern under executive Artūras Karnišovas, the team failed to make the swing, again missing an opportunity to improve their roster while assets were available.

All the Wizards gave up for Young were C.J. McCollum’s expiring contract and Corey Kispert, a solid role player but not a game-changing talent, highlighting the low cost of acquiring one of the league’s premier offensive talents.

In reality, Washington acquired more than just Young the player; they acquired Young the asset, a dynamic centerpiece who can boost the team’s rebuild and provide leverage in future trades or extensions, opening up multiple roster-building avenues.

Karnišovas’ inaction has become a pattern in Chicago, following previous delays in trading DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, and now hesitating with Nikola Vucevic, leaving the franchise stagnant while opportunities to accelerate a rebuild slip away.

The Bulls currently hold almost $60 million in expiring contracts, including Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, and Zach Collins, giving them substantial financial flexibility to make a move, yet Karnišovas has repeatedly declined to act decisively.

Chicago also controls its own first-round picks, providing additional tools to improve the roster either through acquisition or draft capital, yet the front office has chosen caution over risk, prioritizing inaction instead of seizing opportunity.

Coby White is another key piece, expected to be in high demand over the coming weeks, but Karnišovas faces a choice: trade him now to acquire value or attempt to re-sign him in free agency, potentially overpaying and further limiting the team’s future flexibility.

The Trae Young trade would have been a brilliant move for Chicago, offering a high-volume scorer who could pair with existing young talent to create both immediate excitement and long-term value, even if the fit on a rebuilding roster appeared imperfect on paper.

High-usage players like Young pose challenges on a team with multiple young contributors, but deeper analysis shows that the potential positives—marketability, trade value, and floor spacing—outweigh the negatives, particularly for a team stuck in NBA purgatory between rebuilding and contending.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer on The Stein Line Substack, the Wizards will have about $80 million in cap space this summer, providing flexibility to absorb Young’s salary while continuing to improve the roster or flip him later for additional assets.

The Bulls, by contrast, are projected to have the most cap space in the NBA, yet their unwillingness to act means they remain in limbo, neither strong enough to contend in the short term nor weak enough to secure high lottery positioning for a transformational talent.

Washington can afford to be patient with Young, allowing him to rebuild value while providing the team leverage to trade him in the future for more than they sent to Atlanta, an option unavailable to the Bulls due to front office inaction.

Chicago, by comparison, remains stuck in a frustrating middle ground, incapable of winning a playoff series but not bad enough to climb the lottery standings, leaving them with few meaningful options unless the front office commits to a bold move.

Fischer notes that the Wizards are a less glamorous franchise, with limited draw for fans, while Chicago has a loyal, sellout crowd at the United Center; yet despite this advantage, the Bulls continue to sit on their hands instead of taking calculated risks.

Substitute “Bulls” for “Wizards” in any discussion of strategy, and the point remains the same: the team’s potential is squandered by indecision, while Washington demonstrates the benefits of risk-taking, even when the cost is relatively minor compared to the potential rewards.

In short, Karnišovas’ front office continues to avoid decisions, refusing to act even when opportunities present themselves, allowing other teams to accelerate their rebuilds or acquisitions while Chicago remains stagnant, frustrating fans and analysts alike.