When this lifelong suffering fan of the Atlanta Hawks watched Trae Young propel them into the Eastern Conference finals in the summer of 2021, I thought we had our leader and point guard for the next decade and change.

And hey, if Young didn’t step on a referee’s foot to sustain a bone bruise in his right ankle late in the third quarter of Game 3 with Atlanta leading Milwaukee at home when the series was knotted at 1-1, who knows what happens in the rest of that ECF series?

The Bucks ended up winning Game 3, but the Hawks bounced back with a blowout win in Game 4 to even the seven-game set at 2-2 going back to Milwaukee. The Bucks won Game 5 for a 3-2 edge with Young still sidelined.

Young gave it a go in Game 6, but he was nowhere near 100 percent and Milwaukee closed out the series. The Bucks then beat the Suns 4-2 in the NBA Finals.

Nevertheless, the future seemed bright in Atlanta, but nothing has gone right since the summer of 2021. The Hawks have been forced to fight their way into the postseason from the NBA Play-In Tournament every season since then.

To his credit, Young has remained loyal to Atlanta throughout his tenure with the club. The franchise has been patient, too, trying to find the right mix around him.

But it hasn’t worked and when the Hawks didn’t extend his contract – which is in its last season before Young has a player option for 2026-27 – this past summer, it was clear that the Trae Young Era in The ATL was on its last legs.

When Young was injured in late October, the Hawks posted an 11-5 record in their first 16 games without him. When he returned in mid-December, they promptly lost five games in a row.

At that point, it was only a matter of time. Finally, the trigger was pulled Wednesday night with Atlanta shipping Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

The move reunites Young with Wizards executive Travis Schlenk, the former Hawks general manager who orchestrated the draft-night deal in 2018 that sent Luka Doncic to the Mavs for Young and a pick that became Cam Reddish.

The 34-year-old McCollum is still a solid player, but his value is in his $30.6 million contract that expires at the end of the season. The Lehigh product is averaging 18.8 points, 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this year.

The 26-year-old Kispert has started twice in 19 games this season, averaging 9.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 APG while draining 39.5 percent of his 3-pointers.

Young has only played in 10 games this year, averaging 19.3 points, 8.9 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He’s hit 41.5 percent of his field-goal attempts and 30.5 percent of his treys.

In 493 regular-season games for Atlanta, Young has averaged 25.2 points, 9.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 SPG. He’s buried 43.2 percent of his FGAS and 35.1 percent of his 3-balls.

Young is a four-time All-Star selection who led the NBA in assists (11.6 APG) last season. He’s finished fourth in the NBA in scoring twice in 2019-20 (29.6 PPG) and 2021-22 (28.4 PPG).

Young is all over the franchise’s record books. He’s Atlanta’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made (1,295), 3-point attempts (3,687), assists (4,837) and assists per game (9.8). Young ranks fourth in free throws made (3,276) and free-throw attempts (3,752), and he’s in sixth place in points (12,413) and free-throw percentage (87.3%).

But it hasn’t been all stats during the ‘Ice Trae’ Era in Atlanta. The dude has had many big-time moments.

Young has taken a bow at MSG after serving up the Knicks quite a few times, including an exit from the postseason in 2021. He was money in upset wins at Philadelphia in Games 1 and 7 in the 2021 East semifinals, famously waving goodbye to seething Sixers fans as they made their way to the exits after a colossal postseason failure.

Young got nothing but nylon with his deep game-winning 3-ball at Boston to cap a monster comeback in Game 5 several years ago. He’s hit three game-winning buzzer beaters, including one from beyond halfcourt at Utah.

When McCollum’s contract comes off the books this summer, Atlanta will have the salary-cap room to pick up an All-Star lever player to pair with 24-year-old Jalen Johnson, who is averaging 23.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.5 SPG. The Hawks might not be done making moves before the trade deadline, but they better not make the mistake of dealing for Anthony Davis, who is past his prime and can’t stay healthy.

The Hawks have several other nice pieces with Nickeil Alexander-Walker (20.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.3 APG & 1.0 SPG), Dyson Daniels (11.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 6.1 APG & 1.9 SPG), Onyeka Okongwu (16.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.1 SPG & 1.0 BPG) and Zaccharie Risacher (11.2 PPG), who was the #1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

There’s also the expiring contract of Kristaps Porzingis (17.1 PPG) that’s set to come off the books this summer. But most importantly, the Hawks own the Pelicans’ non-protected first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft that’s looking like a top-four pick at the moment.

With last night’s 117-100 win over New Orleans as a 10.5-point home favorite, Atlanta improved to 18-21 both straight up and against the spread. That has the Hawks in ninth place in the East, one game ahead of Chicago and three games back of Miami for eighth place.

Quin Snyder’s job is likely on the line as the rest of this season plays out, too.

As for Young, he still has a bright future and should remain popular in Atlanta moving forward. He’s one of the most talented offensive players in the NBA and has been for years, although it’s become increasingly clear that he’s best off as a club’s #2 guy rather than a face of the franchise.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.