Trae Young Opens Up on Offseason Criticism, Wizards Transition

As Trae Young's player-option deadline looms, he added extra reassurance that he believes he and the Wizards can accomplish a lot together.

Since his trade from Atlanta in January, Young has moved with a massive chip on his shoulder. It's pretty easy to understand why. After seven years with the Hawks, his ability to drive a winning product was questioned. In just 10 games played with his former team last year, he only won in two of them.

In a league that puts an emphasis on recency bias, a perception of a player changes fast. Well, the Wizards are in a similar boat. In the last three years, they've won exactly 50 games. In an ideal world, the Wizards hope to reach that win total in one season for the first time since 1979. That was obviously not the team's goal during its deconstruction phase.

After the trade for Young, team president Michael Winger told reporters the team had completed its deconstruction phase and would begin its build-up to becoming what they hope becomes a perennial contender.

It's not just a reconstruction for the Wizards -- it's also one for Young.

“This is the most slept on I’ve been in my whole life," Young said on The Pivot Podcast. "Imagine the Wizards as the No. 1 team in the East next year. What are people gonna be saying?”

It's not just fans haven't believed in Young. In a poll conducted by The Athletic, Young was rated the second most overrated player in the league by his peers. Young was rated first in the same poll in 2023.

There's a reason this relationship seems so comprehensible. The Wizards needed a floor raiser, and an offensive engine. 

Winger told Ryen Russillo the team's competitive approach changed with the acquisition. 

"We knew we'd be some degree of good with Trae Young," Winger said.

The idea is simple. Young helps the Wizards win basketball games. That's exactly what Young needed; a team that believes that idea. 

"We lacked an offensive engine," Winger said. "We have great play finishers. We have great athletes. We have great guys who do something great. But we didn't have an offensive engine. And so what we felt was adding him as an offensive engine, he will create space for everybody else. He creates a lot of defensive movement."

Washington finished with a 1.60 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2025, which was third-worst in basketball. The poor number reflects the lack of a true point guard on the Wizards roster beforehand. The high turnover rate and lack of creation led to an extremely inconsistent offense overall—Washington's 109.7 offensive rating was the second-worst in the league.

Since 2021, Atlanta's offensive rating was always above 115, which would be comfortably in the top half of the league this past season. Young hasn't played much in the last year. In just 15 games, he still showed remarkable playmaking prowess.

Young assisted on 291 points per 75 possessions, according to Databallr. This put Young in the 97th percentile. 

Needless to say, the Wizards' young crop of players should benefit greatly from Young running the offense. 

“I haven’t played much in a year and a half, but trust me, I’m just entering my prime," Young said.

Young, 27, has done and said all the right things to impress Washington's fans. As much as Young wanted to be embraced by the organization and its fans, the same thing could be said about the fans.

When Young was traded, he reiterated the same idea multiple times. He wanted it known Washington was where he desired to be.  

“I wanted to go [to Washington]. It’s not like [Atlanta] just shipped me to Washington. Because that wasn’t the case," Young said on The Pivot Podcast.

For Wizards fans, this hasn't been a normal occurrence.  Despite being a larger media market than tons of NBA cities, they've never been a desired destination in free agency or the trade market.

A poll conducted by The Athletic revealed Washington as the second least desirable trade destination among NBA players. With that being said, Young made the Wizards his desired spot. 

For a town deprived of any star talent over the last three seasons, it was evident on the night of his Wizards' debut that the fans coveted that level of pedigree. A weeknight game against the Utah Jazz would not have generated any buzz last season. The two teams were among some of the worst in the league, as both felt the handcuffs a top-eight protection on their first-round picks. Lo and behold, both these teams pick at the top of the draft.

What should have been a quiet night at Capital One Arena, became a breath of fresh air in that arena. Fans arrived over an hour before tip-off to watch Young warmup. Fans lined the player entrance way, hoping Young would stop by to sign autographs. I attended nearly every home game last season, and that's something that only happened on select nights -- and it was exclusively for the other team.

The likes of Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, and others received this treatment. Finally, it was happening for a member of the home team. Now, the Wizards added to that fire. A month later, they acquired an all-time great big in Anthony Davis from the Mavericks. Davis did not appear in a game for the Wizards last year, as he continued recovering from a hand injury.

Eight weeks later, Washington found the stroke of serendipity it may have needed to make the entire rebuild make sense. The Wizards have their third first-overall pick choice looming.

No matter who the Wizards take on June 23rd, Young and Davis are the established stars of the Wizards. For Young, it's a new opportunity; for the Wizards, Young unlocks the door of the NBA's basement.

How long will Young stick around in D.C.? 

It's an intriguing question. Young's player-option worth $49 million dollars is due for a decision by June 23rd.  The Stein Line has reported on multiple occasions that the expectation is that Young and the Wizards agree to a new three-year contract this summer. 

If he opts out of his contract and signs that deal, it gives Washington stability at the point guard position for the next couple of seasons. 

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