Trae Young voices excitement to play with the Wizards (1:33)Trae Young says that Washington is “overlooked” as a basketball market and that he is excited to join the Wizards. (1:33)
The Wizards expect change at the excitement, win and fan participation levels once newcomer star Trae Young dons their uniform at a to-be-determined time.
“He plays an exciting brand of basketball that we’re looking forward to seeing here,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said during a news conference at Capital One Arena on Friday. “He just plays with a level of confidence, a level of competitiveness that we feel like we’d like to add. It’s what sets him apart when you watch him play against the other guards in the league. Happy to have him here.
“Trae has been a force since he got in the league, day one, rookie year. He evolved into one of the best, elite, proven playmakers. That’s something that we’re going to be continuing to look for while he’s here.”
Young was officially traded to the Wizards on Friday from Atlanta for veteran guard CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. The four-time NBA All-Star starred in Atlanta since 2018, averaging 25.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game while shooting .432 from the field and .351 from 3. The sharpshooter has averaged 19.3 points and 8.9 assists in a mere 10 games this season. He has missed six straight games with a quad contusion.
The limping 6-foot-1, 180-pounder was sidelined during Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a right quad contusion and right knee MCL sprain. Young said the Wizards will determine when he debuts. His new head coach Brian Keefe offered no timetable when asked if Young would play during the remainder of the season. The Wizards’ No. 1 pick in the touted 2026 NBA draft is top-eight protected.
Said Keefe: “It is a really exciting time for our organization. It’s someone who is going to enhance our team and enhance the growth of our players. Specifically our young players. We’re getting an elite playmaker.”
Young is in the midst of a five-year, $215 million max contract with a player option of $49 million for next season. The expectation is that the Young and the Wizards will come to a contract extension agreement next offseason. Dawkins was in a similar situation as vice president of basketball operations with the Oklahoma City Thunder in which the franchise acquired Paul George via trade before re-signing him to a four-year, $137 million max deal June 30, 2018.
Dawkins said the Oklahoma connection made it “more comfortable” for the Wizards to make a deal for the former University of Oklahoma star.
“Always kept in touch with the family, kept in touch with him once he became a professional player watching through the ranks. The other thing, having Travis Schlenk, who drafted him, one of our head VP decision makers on the evaluation space. The connectivity they had. It made it a lot easier when you’re doing background research to know you know people who truly know his family and the truly know the kid.”
Said Young: “I just feel like I’m being able to come into an opportunity to be myself. I’m around people that obviously have known me for a long time, known the type of person I am, the type of winner I want to be.”
Young departs Atlanta as the franchise’s career leader in assists (4,837) and made 3-pointers (1,295) while ranking fourth in made free throws (3,276), sixth in points (12,413) and ninth in made field goals (3,921). He also led the Hawks to the 2023 Eastern Conference finals. Young, however, was not offered a contract extension by the Hawks’ new regime led by first-year general manager Onsi Saleh.
“I loved it. I enjoyed it. For me, going there as a 19-, 20-year-old, it was a dream come true being able to be drafted there,” Young said. “I have nothing but love and respect to the Ressler family. It was kind of their beginning of being in Atlanta, too. Going in there at the same time with them, it was a dream come true.
What also aided Young’s comfort level in Washington is that Wizards senior vice president of player personnel Travis Schlenk chose him with the fifth pick to Atlanta in the 2018 NBA draft. Dawkins has been aware of the Norman, Oklahoma, native since he was 12 years old and his father, Rayford, was bringing him to countless Thunder games. With No. 11 retired in Washington in honor of Elvin Hayes, Dawkins noted that Young changed from wearing No. 11 in Atlanta to No. 3, his old Norman North High School jersey number, with the Wizards.
A source close to Young told Andscape on Monday morning that the star was open to departing the Hawks via trade but wasn’t going to ask for one. By Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Young’s representatives and the Hawks were going to work on a trade, which ultimately was consummated with Washington days later. A source added that Young hoped to leave Atlanta on good graces with the city and Hawks fan base after viewing Kevin Durant’s tenuous departure from the Thunder in 2017.
Trae Young voices excitement to play with the Wizards (1:33)Trae Young says that Washington is “overlooked” as a basketball market and that he is excited to join the Wizards. (1:33)
Trae Young says that Washington is “overlooked” as a basketball market and that he is excited to join the Wizards. (1:33)