WASHINGTON (AP) — Trae Young's tan outfit nearly matched the color of Washington's uniforms. And although he couldn't take the court and help his new team, Wizards fans showed their appreciation.
Young was introduced to the home crowd with a video during the first quarter of Friday night's game against New Orleans. Earlier in the day, the trade that sent the high-scoring guard from Atlanta to Washington became official, and now Young can look forward
to a fresh start after leaving the Hawks.
"For me, DC is overlooked as far as a big market," Young said. “In the NBA, I feel like this is a big market, and I just feel like I'm going to be able to come into an opportunity to be myself.”
The first big question is when Young will play again. He missed Friday night’s game with knee and quadriceps issues and hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 27.
Big market or not, the Wizards lost 64 games last season and 67 in 2023-24. They were 3-20 around mid-December but had won seven of their last 13 entering Friday night’s game. Washington has plenty of young players, and the development of second-year big man Alex Sarr has been encouraging, but the Wizards could use a true point guard to play alongside the likes of Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson and Kyshawn George, all of whom are between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-8 and under 23 years old.
Enter the 27-year-old Young, who for his career has averaged 25.2 points per game and 9.8 assists. After the Wizards spent two seasons bottoming out, his arrival gives Washington fans a star they can pin their hopes on. General manager Will Dawkins suggested the move won't alter the patience the team has shown with its less experienced players.
“As an organization, we have a long-term plan, and we're not going to do anything to deviate from that,” Dawkins said. “I think Trae fits into what we're trying to do based on the development of a lot of the younger players.”
Washington could lose its first-round pick this year if it falls outside the top eight, but aside from that, there was little obvious downside to bringing in a four-time All-Star like Young, especially since the Wizards gave up no draft choices in the trade. Washington sent guard CJ McCollum, who coincidentally has the same birthday as Young but is seven years older, to Atlanta along with reserve forward Corey Kispert.
Young has a player option for about $49 million for next season.
“When you have a four-time All-Star, All-NBA player available, who wants to come to DC and help make it what we want it to be, it was an easy partnership and an easy decision,” Dawkins said.
Although he led the Hawks to the conference finals back in 2021, Atlanta hasn't even made the playoffs the past two seasons, and the light return for Young indicates where his stock was when the deal was made.
“On behalf of the Hawks franchise, I’d like to thank Trae for how he embraced the city of Atlanta and represented the Hawks during his time here, on the court and in the community." Hawks GM Onsi Saleh said in a statement. "Over more than seven seasons, including four All-Star appearances, he cemented himself as a fan favorite and one of the great players in our franchise’s history. We wish Trae and his family all the best.”
Now Young will try to add to Washington's recent history of dynamic point guards. After years with John Wall leading the way, the Wizards had Russell Westbrook for one remarkable season in which he averaged a triple-double and led Washington to its most recent playoff berth.
But that was back in 2020-21, the same season the Hawks peaked with Young. He was in only his third season then.
“It happened faster than I expected in my last place,” Young said, suggesting the Wizards could be capable of a similar rise.
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