Trae Young will finally suit up for the Wizards.
ESPN’s Shams Charania is reporting the All-Star guard will finally play for Washington against the Jazz on Thursday, nearly two months after the team acquired him from the Hawks. The Wizards landed Young from Atlanta on January 9 in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
The 27-year-old has been dealing with knee and quad injuries, and some had speculated that he might not play for the rest of the season. Washington is currently 13 games out of a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, so bringing the team’s star guard back when Anthony Davisis potentially out for the season makes little sense. Young must really want to play.
The Wizards currently have the fourth-worst record in the NBA (16–43), and are 3 1/2 games behind the Kings for the top spot in the draft lottery. If Washington is leaning into tanking, it must be confident that adding Young won’t change much.
In 10 games this season, Young has averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 28.0 minutes per game. It’s a big drop off from his 2024–25 campaign in which he averaged 24.2 points per game for Atlanta while leading the NBA by averaging 11.6 assists.
A month after adding Young, the Wizards landed Davis from the Mavericks as part of the three-team trade that also included the Hornets.
Davis is dealing with ligament damage in his left hand, and his status for the rest of the season remains up in the air.
Trae Young’s contract situation with Wizards
Young has one season left on the five-year, $215.2 million contract he agreed to with the Hawks in August of 2021. That final year comes in the form of a $49 million player option. Atlanta was unwilling to sign him up to a longer deal, which was part of the reason he was traded.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Young and the Wizards are expected to agree on an extension this summer. It will likely be a three-year deal. Locking up Young and adding he and Davis to the team’s young core could be a great move for Washington.
Alex Sarr, Keyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Bub Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly are all solid pieces to build around with the two newly-added All-Stars.
The Wizards could have a bright future if Young and Davis get healthy and gel with the team’s young players. Add in a lottery pick in this year’s draft and the franchise might have something.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Trae Young Finally Set for Wizards Debut Nearly Two Months After Trade From Hawks.
