Trae Young Embraces New Opportunity with Wizards, 'I know I'm not a finished product'

When Wizards head coach Brian Keefe arrived at the podium for his normal 5:15 press conference before the game, he has a noticeable grin throughout his time answering questions. 

There was certainly a buzz in the air of the home interview room --- which was packed with more members from the media seen in years. The Athletic's David Aldridge joked multiple times that he was part of a group of just five others in the same room just three days prior. 

That's what happens when you bring in a four-time all-star player in Trae Young.

Young, 27, departs Atlanta after an illustrious career with the Hawks, which ended because his services no longer fit the long-term plan. 

For a Wizards team looking to take the next step of their rebuild, he wants to be part of it.

" I think for me, there's a lot of different directions I could have went as far as my goals and what I want my legacy to be at the end of the day," Young said. "And for me, being able to have an impact on my teammates and people around me."

Young enters a situation vastly different from his last. Washington's young core of players has flashed at times, but without a true playmaker on the roster. Young could be the piece to unlock potential from the crop.

" I always learned that the ball brings energy, gives energy, and so that's why I love passing," Young said.  "I know as soon as I run a pick and roll with Alex [Sarr], I get him a little drop off to a dunk or a lob, or I see Bilal [Coulibaly] cutting, and he gets the ball, and he is not just cutting just to cut. I mean that builds chemistry; that builds trust."

The Wizards aren't in a position that needs Young to help them win games right now. Young understands that. With a top-eight protecting looming over the franchise's head, that's a major priority. It's likely Washington hopes to take a leap forward next year. Young's playmaking prowess could be exactly what it needs.

“I think as an organization, we have a long-term plan, and we're not going to do anything that deviates from that," Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said. "I think Trae fits into what we're trying to do based on the development, a lot of the other players, and how he's going to help amplify them. So we're always going to be, like I said, opportunistic. And when you have a four-time All-Star, All-NBA player available who wants to come to DC and help make it what we wanted to be, it was an easy partnership and an easy decision, to be honest with you.”

That's another factor standing out from this whole trade. Young's top destination was Washington. Whether or not, that's because it was one of the few teams with the right financial situation to make it work, he had reasoning for it.

"D.C. is overlooked, as far as a big market in the NBA," Young said. " I feel like this is a big market, and I just feel like I'm being able to come into an opportunity to be myself. I’m around people that obviously have known me for a long time and know the type of person I am and the type of winner I want to be."

Dawkins and Young have a relationship that stretches back to Young's youth. Dawkins said he met Young when he was a young up-and-coming basketball player from Norman, Oklahoma. 

"I've seen him in so many different jerseys," Dawkins said. " Norman High School, Mokan AAU, McDonald's, hoop summit with the USA on his chest, boomer Sooner OU, to the professional career. I'm excited that the next jersey he's going to be wearing will be one of the Washington Wizards."

Dawkins and Young both referenced the process Washington won't deviate from. However, Young wants to win, and he wants to take the process to a new level.

“You don't want to go somewhere and just expect to lose your whole time there," Young said. "I understand where we're at right now and where we want to go. So for me, as I said, I mean, over and over again, it may sound like a broken record, but this is a day-by-day process."

Young said he wants to bring his new teammates to Los Angeles this summer to workout with them and build chemistry. 

 I don't want to look too far ahead or set expectations on when this will happen, because you never know," Young said. "It happened faster than I expected in my last place, so you never know when it can happen. But if you focus on the daily stuff, things are gonna work out.”

Young's word coincides with Dawkins and Keefe's idea of process they allude to often. 

Obviously, this is a new moment for him," Keefe said. "I think he's really excited about the opportunity. I've gotten to spend a little bit of time with him. I think this is a guy who, like the rest of our guys, is a guy who loves basketball. That can never be underestimated. Guys who love the game, who love the craft of it, and working on that. That's the type of guys we want in our building."

Young referenced leaving a legacy that he desires as part of his goals in Washington. A lot of his hopes for his legacy include off-court contributions, but he said he wants to be someone who elevates his teammates.

"I know I'm not a finished product," Young said.  "I know people look at me as a finished product sometimes, and I don't know. I don't have the baby face, maybe I need to go back to it. But I just I got so much to improve on the court."

Young said he desires to bring the best out of the Wizards' young players as they continue to develop and mature. He said he hopes to "make an All-Star or two" from the Wizards' core.

Young knows the task of bringing a young team to a winning brand of basketball isn't easy. Him watching his new team fall by 21 to the eight-win New Orleans Pelicans gave him an up-close view of the struggles young players face in this league.

“It's not easy, especially as a young team," Young said. "It's very easy as a young guy to come into this league and focus on yourself and how to get to that next deal and next whatever because it's new, it's a dream come true. So if you have those vets that I've had experience with and can tell you that, trust me, if you win, everything else is going to take care of itself."

When Young will suit up for the Wizards remains one of the largest questions. It's evident Washington will take his time as he recovers from his quad injury, but there's a belief the team is eager to see him suit up this season. Keefe said the team's top priority is to get him healthy before he sees the floor.

Obviously, I've been playing through some stuff early on, but I just got to leave it up to them because obviously they want to make sure I'm right, and I do too," Young said. "I don't want to come back and be myself for this team, for the city."

For Young, it's a chance to remind basketball fans why he was once believed to be a top-five offensive player in the league. A fresh start in Washington might be exactly what he needed. Young got his first taste of being a Wizard earlier in the day, donning his new kit for the first time.

“It was surreal. It was different. It was special," Young said. 'It’s going to feel even more real the first time I put it on and walk out there, and I walk out that tunnel right behind that bench. I’ll be able to really feel what it’s like, but today it was just something new. I'm just embracing everything about this place and this moment so far. So I'm just enjoying it all. So it felt amazing.”