Trae Young is back in trade rumors just five months after the Washington Wizards acquired him.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported on Monday that while the expectation remains that Young will find a long-term deal with the Wizards, several teams, including the Miami Heat, are considering trade avenues to acquire the four-time All-Star guard.
This comes as the Heat continue attempts to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo — a player who’s also being targeted by the Boston Celtics.
Fischer said Young is another “big fish” target for Miami if it cannot land Antetokounmpo. Kawhi Leonard and Ja Morant were also listed as options for Miami.
Young maintained last week on “The Pivot” podcast that he wants to remain in Washington and take the team’s young core to the next level. But a move remains possible if the price is right.
It remains likely that Young signs a multi-year extension to stay with the Wizards. But if that plan fails, there are a few ways this could play out.
Sign and trade
Miami is a peculiar organization.
It seems every offseason, the Heat is involved in trade negotiations for a star player, yet never actually land said star player. Wizards fans lived this in 2023 when Miami was the frontrunner to land Bradley Beal before the Phoenix Suns swooped in and acquired him.
Reports indicate that this could happen again with Antetokounmpo, which would open Miami as a possible suitor for Young.
Fischer reported that teams would consider “trade avenues” to specifically add Young and didn’t mention the possibility of Young exploring his options in free agency. For a trade to work, Young would either have to opt in to his $48.9 million player option or opt out, become an unrestricted free agent and sign a deal with Washington before the sides initiated a sign and trade, which is the more likely option.
Miami has several large salaries that would need to be included in a potential Young trade. That doesn’t include Bam Adebayo’s $49.5 million salary because Pat Riley said Miami is never trading its star center. That leaves Tyler Herro ($33 million) and Andrew Wiggins ($30 million) trade pieces.
One of those two players must be included for monetary reasons.
Herro has one year and $33 million remaining on his rookie extension. Wiggins has a $30.1 million player option for the 2026 27 season that he would have to opt into to initiate a trade.
Herro, the younger and more talented of the two, makes more sense for Washington. But that doesn’t necessarily make sense for Miami, because a Young-Adebayo duo isn’t much better than Herro-Adebayo. And if the Heat trade Herro, they’re essentially replacing him with Young and running back a roster that went 43-39 and missed the playoffs last season.
That’s why shedding Wiggins’ salary makes more sense for Miami. But if the Wizards take on the $30.1 million expiring contract of a 31-year-old forward who doesn’t fit their timeline, they would likely require additional compensation.
Enter the No. 13 pick, which, if attached to a player like Wiggins in a potential sign-and-trade for Young, could prove enticing enough for Washington.
If the package is Wiggins’ expiring salary plus the No. 13 pick for Young, that means the Wizards essentially turned CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert into a lottery pick, which would be incredible asset management.
Could Young leave in free agency?
Fischer noted that the renewed interest in Young could position him to command a salary on his next deal “approaching the similar maximum contract he enjoyed with Atlanta,” which was a five-year, $215 million deal.
This signals Young’s camp could use the renewed interest as leverage in extension talks with the Wizards. However, Young only maintains that leverage if the alternative to an extension is him opting out and signing as a free agent with the Heat or another team.
The issue is that it’s unlikely Miami can afford Young on a salary close to the maximum contract he was on in Atlanta, or the maximum contract — $212.9 million over four years — he can sign as a free agent this summer, if they keep both Wiggins and Herro.
Miami currently has ~$33 million in luxury tax space. They are ~$40 million under the first apron and ~$52 million under the second apron.
Factoring in the projected salary for the No. 13 pick, which is $5.7 million at 120% of the rookie scale, Miami falls to just $27.3 million under the luxury tax, $34.3 million under the first apron and $46.3 million under the second apron.
If Young opts out and signs with Miami on a similar deal to the one he signed with Atlanta, the Heat would not only be above the luxury tax but would also creep above the first apron and flirt with reaching the second apron.
Washington could lose Young for free if he opts out and signs elsewhere, but that remains very unlikely. That’s why a trade, as Fischer mentioned, is the more likely avenue if a team like Miami attempts to acquire Young.
That said, the most likely avenue remains Young reaching a multi-year extension to stay with the Wizards.
