The Washington Wizards jump-started their rebuild by adding star point guard Trae Young on Wednesday. A move that could prove beneficial for years to come. They have now managed to go from a team with a few intriguing young pieces to one that could truly be an exciting NBA team.
The Atlanta Hawks traded Young to the Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. Yes, that is the full trade. There are no draft picks involved. A mere salary dump and Kispert is all it took to land the former face of their franchise.
Young’s value diminished so heavily over the last few months that it is almost unbelievable how quickly this went down. Looking past this trade, it makes the potential markets for Lamelo Ball and Ja Morant, two more potential trade candidates, much more interesting.
The Wizards getting away with this trade without giving up any draft compensation is an absolute shock. The package of players were rumored for days; the only thing that was supposedly holding up the deal was the draft picks. Fans were speculating how many firsts it would take; few could have predicted zero.
Young was added to a developing core of Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington. All of whom are under the age of 23. The question is not of the potential talent this group has, but more so, how they are going to play together.
Sarr is locked in at center, even if he could be a better fit at power forward. George and Coulibaly will man the forward positions, with Young at point guard. Johnson, the team’s first-round pick this past summer, will likely have to come off the bench as the fit with Young is more than concerning. Two guards under 6’2 with poor defensive capabilities would not work in today’s NBA. It will be hard to hide one of them, impossible to hide both.
Johnson will play a pivotal role in how this whole thing plays out. If the Wizards somehow find a way to make those two fit together, it makes extending Young much more fathomable. Carrington will certainly be anchoring the second unit after this trade, as the starting guard position has been taken from him for the foreseeable future.
The Wizards adding Young at the value they got him for will never be a bad thing. An expiring contract and a player that was blocking younger talent got shipped out in exchange for a star point guard. They will now have to figure out the perfect system to put in place to hide him on defense. Coulibaly and Sarr are considered high-level defenders who could help Young on the back end, and George is a versatile defender who could guard multiple positions.
Young is a free agent after this season, and if Washington doesn’t like the fit, they could always let him walk in free agency. An awesome low risk high reward type move that elevated the Wizards into a team that could actually be an exciting watch. The only thing that could throw a wrench in all of this is Young’s health. It was reported on Thursday that he may not play much for the Wizards this season as they prioritize their upcoming draft pick.
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