The Washington Wizards and guard Trae Young have agreed on a maximum contract extension to keep the four-time All-Star in the nation’s capital, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
The four-year, $212.5 million max contract comes days after Young declined his $48.97 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
Young, 27, was acquired by Washington in a January trade that sent CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert to the Atlanta Hawks. The nine-year veteran averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 assists while shooting
59.5% from the field across five appearances with the Wizards last season.
Young missed 67 games due to several injuries, most notably a quad contusion and an MCL sprain that forced him to miss nearly two months following the trade. Back irritation and another quad contusion caused Young to miss the team’s final 15 contests.
The Oklahoma product was selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. His best season came in 2021-22 when he averaged 28.4 points and 9.7 assists en route to All-NBA Third Team honors.
Michael Winger revealed on the Ryen Russillo Show that Washington’s front office ranked Young as the top 2026 free agent. Rather than wait for Young to decline his player option and test free agency, the Wizards used their abundance of cap space to acquire him via trade.
Wizards general manager Will Dawkins applauded Young’s court vision and said the organization acquired him to serve as the team’s floor general. With an extension inked, Young’s role is now official as the team’s PG of the future.
“You just see the playmaking, the scoring, the presence that he has for naturally moving and sharing the ball,” Dawkins said in March.
Dawkins also praised Young’s desire to be in Washington — a feeling Young shared during a recent appearance on “The Pivot” podcast.
“I wanted to go [to Washington],” Young said. “It’s not like [Atlanta] just shipped me to Washington. Because that wasn’t the case.”
Young projects as Washington’s starting point guard alongside Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr. That leaves openings in the team’s starting unit for two of the following players: Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson and whoever Washington selects with the No. 1 pick.
No matter the starting lineup, Young believes the Wizards are ready to ascend behind their young core and group of veterans poised for a better season.
“I know our team is gonna be ready,” Young said on The Pivot. “We have young guys who have been through the rebuilding stage. They went through a lot of losing the last few years, and they’re tired of losing. I want to be there with them when we’re winning.”
