Trae Young and the Washington Wizards appear to have found their middle ground of sorts.
The Wizards star guard Young is projected to sign a new contract extension with the team for three years and $120 million, veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported to Substack this week. Stein notes that is the “likely ballpark” figure for Young’s anticipated extension with Washington.
Young, the 27-year-old four-time All-Star, was acquired by the Wizards in a blockbuster trade with the Atlanta Hawks last January. But with Young hobbled throughout the year by a quad injury, he only made five total appearances for Washington, averaging an underwhelming 15.2 points and 6.2 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Young technically holds a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season. Young has until June 23 to make an official decision on that option, but he is expected to tack on multiple years beyond that as part of a formal extension agreement with the Wizards.
At a roughly $40 million average annual value on that looming new extension, Young would be taking a decent-sized pay cut relative to what he was making over the last couple of years. But that would be in line with Young’s reduced market value of late, and the three-year framework would also allow Young to opt out and/or renegotiate a bigger deal sooner.
The Wizards view Young as a crucial piece of their longer-term future, and they are entering into an exciting new era with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft set to join the likes of youngsters Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, and Bilal Coulibaly on their roster too. But the same might not be true of fellow star trade acquisition Anthony Davis, who may already be angling to leave Washington before even playing in a single game for them.
