General manager Will Dawkins, head coach Brian Keefe and new Washington Wizards guard Trae Young break down what the plan to return to play looks like.
After reports of a blockbuster trade broke the internet on Wednesday night, Washington officially introduced Trae Young as the newest Wizard on Friday night, one hour before tipoff.
"Today is a very exciting day for basketball fans across the DMV," general manager Will Dawkins said to open the press conference alongside Young.
The next wave of excitement could come when the former Hawks point guard officially puts on a Wizards uniform to play, but when that happens is the biggest question mark.
"First thing is just to get him healthy," head coach Brian Keefe said of Young. "That's number one, and we have a great medical and performance team. I’m just going to follow their lead, but that's number one thing. Get him healthy first coach."
After officially adding him to the roster, the Wizards officially added Young to Friday's injury report with what the team listed as both a right guard contusion and a right knee MCL sprain, the latter an injury that kept Young sidelined for the bulk of a six-week stretch to end the 2025 slate. The team is expected to take a cautious approach with his recovery, while preserving their chances of holding onto their top-eight protected first round pick next year, with a return to play timeline unclear.
“I've been playing through some injuries this year, obviously," Young said. "And I mean, I'm coming over here, doing these physicals. They want to make sure I'm right and things like that. Obviously, I've been playing through some stuff early on and but I just got to leave it up to them and make sure that - because obviously they want to make sure I'm right and I do too. I don't want to come back and not be myself for this, this team, for the city. So I'll just leave it up to them and make sure they let you know when I'm coming back. Hopefully soon.”
When does take the court, it will be in a new number for the first time since high school with his signature '11', he will do so in a different number with the number retired by the franchise in honor of Elvin Hayes.
“It was my freshman year of high school number so it was the first one right before I changed it to 11, so I turned it back," Young said of the jersey switch.
But to Young, getting back on the court to contribute to an organization he preferred when evaluating his options is the focus as he reflects on what stood out about the Wizards.
“I think there was a lot of factors. 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, like just being able to have an impact on my teammates and people around me, I feel like I did a good job with that as a young player in Atlanta. So being able to be a vet and doing it with these young guys here, I feel like I have more experience and more things that I can give these young guys. And I'm just super excited. This is for me, DC is overlooked, as far as a big market. Like in the NBA, 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. And I know it's a day by day process. I know what it takes. So it's not going to be easy, but I know this is a place that I'm excited about and I was excited about whenever I heard it could be a possibility.”