The Next Great Backcourt in DC : Trae & Tre

The Washington Wizards haven't been a playoff caliber basketball team in quite some time. 

For the longest time, Washington struggled with finding their direction. They had some success in the 2000's with Gilbert Arenas leading the charge, but the 2010's were by far the most rewarding for Washington. 

Headlined by dynamic backcourt duo John Wall and Bradley Beal, Washington had all the makings of being one of the Eastern Conference's best teams. Unfortunately for Washington, all good things must come to an end. 

In December 2020, Washington decided to trade Wall for MVP Russell Westbrook, an indiction that Washington was headed in a new direction with Bradley Beal. 

Washington found little success that season with the Beal/Westbrook backcourt, as they made the play-in tournament and escaped as the 8th seed in the East, only to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers in five games. 

This was the beginning of franchise altering rebuild for Washington, and it's safe to say that that rebuild has paid off. 

Fast forward almost six years from the day of the Wall/Westbrook trade, the Washington's new front office decided to roll the dice for another time.

On January 7, 2026, the Atlanta Hawks traded four-time All-star Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert -- a move that displayed Washington's aggression to win going forward. 

Bringing in Young not only elevates the floor and celling of this young Washington team, but it gives Young's backcourt counterpart a true opportunity to breakout as a star of his own. 

Tre Johnson was the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Johnson is a six-foot-five shooting guard out of the University of Texas who has made a name for himself in the NBA from his elite shooting ability. 

By pairing an elite playmaker in Young with an elite shooter in Johnson, Washington could potentially have one of the best offensive backcourts in the NBA. 

Johnson shoots 38.6% from three on 5.5 average attempts a game; he is a high volume three point shooter that will only benefit from Young's elite floor vision. 

Johnson has also shown flashes of creating his own shot as well, as he has gotten extremely comfortable in the mid range and operating as a pick and roll ball handler. 

Since the start of 2020, Young is second in total assists with 4,184, only behind Nikola Jokic. Young also ranks first in assists per game with 10.2 since the start of 2020. 

While capable of playing the two, Bub Carrington also stabilizes the point guard rotation with experience where he's done well facilitating the offense and drilling the deep ball. Add in Trae Young's ability to thrive with Alex Sarr in the pick-and-roll with Johnson extending defense to the perimeter, Washington's offense has options.

Head coach Brian Keefe has also worked to navigate through the one-time deep room of available players on the wing including Cam Whitmore, who will look to bounce back after injuries cut his 2025-26 season short. But with the scoring tandem of Tre and Trae now able to anchor Washington into a hopeful bounceback season, the Wizards' first marquee trade acquisition can prove himself as an asset in the roster's development starting with Tre.

There's no debating that Young and Johnson would thrive together offensively, but their defense certainly poses questions due to the, both being undersized for their position, especially Trae. 

However, I believe that Alex Sarr, Anthony Davis, Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George will stabilize this group defensively, and help hide some of the weaknesses within the backcourt. 

Although we have yet to see the duo take the court together, I strongly believe that Young will elevate the floor of this team, and significantly raise the celling of Johnson's.