Trae Young Talks Possible Wizards Contract Extension After Trade, 'You Never Know'

Washington Wizards guard Trae Young has left the possibility open that he could sign a contract extension with his new team after the Atlanta Hawks traded him to D.C. on Wednesday.

Young provided his thoughts to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, who asked if it was his "mentality to be in Washington long-term."

"That's the thing," Young replied.

"I'm obviously always where my feet are, especially now. My feet are all here right now. I obviously have a player option this summer. I just want to enjoy the city. Right now, who knows what that would be? It's a good chance. You never know if I'll be here or not. But for me, I like the people around here, obviously. Really, really like the people around here from front office, all those guys being from OKC and the people I just met around here. But I want to figure out more about the city and stuff like that before I even want to get thinking about that. I want to just be around my teammates and all that stuff before an extension."

Young's five-year, $215.1 million contract is winding down. He has a $49 million player option for 2026-27.

The former University of Oklahoma star played eight seasons for the Hawks, averaging 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game while making four All-Star Games. Atlanta also made the playoffs three times during his tenure, including a 2021 Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

This season has been Young's toughest yet. He's only played 10 games due to a right sprained MCL, and he's also dealing with a right quad contusion. He's averaging 19.3 points on 41.5 percent shooting (30.5 percent from three) and 8.9 assists.

It's unclear how much Young will play for Washington. Josh Robbins of The Athletic provided his best guess:

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective Podcast (beginning at the 10:25 mark) that he doesn't think Young will play much for the Wizards. The reason being: the Phoenix Suns have 2026 first-round swap rights with Washington, but that pick is top-eight protected.

In other words, it behooves the Wizards to protect the selection. The 10-27 Wizards currently own the NBA's fourth-worst record and are well on their way toward protecting the pick.