The Atlanta Hawks ripped off the bandage Wednesday night, ending the Trae Young era by trading (or Trae-ding) the four-time All-Star to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

It’s a deal that’s been a long time coming, especially since the Hawks and Young failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension this past offseason.

The Wizards have an opportunity to test-run Young, 27, as one of their franchise cornerstones, while the Hawks can move on to building a team beyond him.

But why didn’t it work with Young in Atlanta? Why, despite Young’s unbelievable offensive skillset, did the Hawks decide to pivot away from their crafty point guard and lean on a new identity?

Ultimately, the reason for the Hawks making this move almost a month before the trade deadline is to give themselves flexibility moving forward. But that’s because one thing became resoundingly clear:

The team was playing better without him.

In this video, I break down the basketball reasons why Young and the Hawks broke up, as well as what’s needed from Young moving forward to shake his reputation as a flawed star in the NBA.

Es Baraheni is a co-host of the Athletic NBA Daily, covering league-wide storylines and topics all season. He is based in Toronto.