New NBA Rumors Update Trae Young, Wizards Contract Buzz After Hawks Deadline Trade

The Washington Wizards traded for Trae Young this season in a surprise retooling trade. Don't expect it to be a short-term relationship.

According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, "I've been repeatedly advised to expect Young and the Wizards to come to terms on a contract extension this summer that is widely projected to be a three-year deal. Young holds a $49 million player option for next season and, as we've discussed in columns like these many times previously, Atlanta's unwillingness to sign Young to a new deal—something the Hawks made clear last summer—led to them dealing Young to the nation's capital."

Young hasn't even played for Washington since being traded in January as he recovers from a sprained right knee and quadriceps contusion, and it's hard to imagine the Wizards are in any rush for him to take the court as they hang out near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings (and by proxy, toward the top of the draft lottery odds).

The Wizards also made the splashy addition of Anthony Davis, clearly eying a roster led by that veteran duo and a promising young core of Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington and this summer's lottery pick.

Trading for both Young and Davis was a pretty clear indication that the Wizards are ready to exit rebuild mode. It wouldn't make much sense, then, to not extend both.

Davis is under contract next season and has a $62.7 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign. He'll also be eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million extension in August. The likelihood that such a lucrative extension would age poorly is pretty high, given Davis' lengthy injury history, and the Wizards might be wise to see how his partnership with both Young and the team's younger core fares next season before making that level of commitment.

But it's clear that the Wizards are ready to win now. That might require spending well into the future.