When the Trae Young to Washington trade went down, one of the big questions was how much Young would play for the Wizards this season. Washington has motivation not to be too good this season and Young is the kind of player who raises a team’s floor (at least) and wins games.
Young will remain out with right MCL and quad injuries through the All-Star break in a month, at which point he will be re-evaluated, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
It doesn’t seem coincidental that this report comes out just as there were growing questions around the league about whether the Wizards were running afoul of the league’s player participation policy. Those are the rules the league put in place a few years ago to make sure star players are on the court — and Young, an All-Star the past four years, qualifies. Young had already returned from an MCL issue, and quad injuries don’t usually take very long to recover from.
The Hawks held Young out with that quad contusion prior to the trade, but the expectation was that, once traded, he would be instantly, almost miraculously healthy (as many other players have been in that situation over the years).
Except, the Wizards are not looking to win too much. Washington owes its first-round pick to New York, but it is top eight protected heading into what is expected to be a very good draft at the top. The Wizards currently have the fourth-worst record in the league, and, even if things go poorly with the lottery, they cannot lose their pick. Even if Washington enters the lottery with the fifth- or sixth-worst record, there is a greater than 96% chance it keeps the pick. However, get to the seventh-worst record or better and the Knicks suddenly start to feel a lot better. Young, as a guy who can just win a team games, can mess up their plans.
Injury or no, there have been “rumbles” that the Wizards might give Young a two-year contract extension, reports NBA insider Marc Stein at The Stein Line. Young has a player option for $48.9 million next season. If he is willing to waive it, the Wizards might offer him two years with more guaranteed money overall but less per season (two years, $70-$75 million). It’s something to watch.
As is when Young will actually step on the court for the Wizards.
