Wizards’ Young to make team debut as franchise enters new era

The Wizards’ new era begins Thursday, as point guard Trae Young is expected to make his team debut more than a month after Washington acquired him through a trade with the Atlanta Hawks.

By adding Young and fellow All-Star Anthony Davis via trades, the Wizards took their first steps toward fielding a competitive team after years of miserable play amid a seemingly endless rebuild.

Young, a four-time All-Star, projects to slot into the Wizards’ lineup as the primary ballhandler on a roster that features young players like center Alex Sarr, wing Bilal Coulibaly and rookie guard Tre Johnson.

At his best, Young is a gifted shooter and one of the league’s best distributors. He averaged at least 10 assists per game in each of the last three seasons. A quad contusion and MCL injury have forced him to spend all but 10 games on the bench this season.

His impact extends beyond the court, though. The young Wizards need a leader. The team’s veteran voices in recent years haven’t stuck around for long. Journeymen like C.J. McCollum, Khris Middleton, Marcus Smart and Jonas Valanciunas spent short stints in Washington before being shipped off in trades.

Early indications are that Young and Davis will stick in the District for the foreseeable future. Davis is under contract through the 2026-27 season with a player option that could keep him with the Wizards until 2028.

Young is eligible for a new contract this summer. Multiple reports around the league have indicated that the Wizards plan to give the 27-year-old a three-year extension.

Young has been to the playoffs. He earned his “Ice Trae” nickname while leading the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first postseason appearance in 2021.

He hasn’t needed to suit up to make an immediate impact on the Wizards. During Monday’s loss to the Houston Rockets, the referees appeared to miss an obvious foul as Houston’s Tari Eason shoved Washington’s Jamir Watkins to the hardwood.

Young, in street clothes, stepped onto the court to voice his frustration with the referees. They rewarded him with an ejection.

“Don’t expect me to get ejected too many more times D.C.,” the guard later wrote on X. “But I’m definitely bringing that energy & competitiveness when I’m back for my brothers!”

His new coach was happy to see a bit of fire from his bench. Washington (16-45) is riding a six-game losing streak.

“I was actually proud of him, because he stuck up for us teammates, and I really care about that type of stuff,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said this week.

Young only represents half of the Wizards’ new dynamic duo. The success-starved fan base is still waiting for Davis to make his team debut.

The new addition, like Young, brings plenty of All-NBA hardware and playoff experience to the District. But Davis also has an ever-growing list of injury concerns.

He hasn’t played since Jan. 8 due to ligament damage in his hand. The Wizards said they would reevaluate him next week and declined to rule him out for the season.

Young and Davis weren’t supposed to turn the Wizards into contenders this year. The pressure of a potential playoff push will wait until next season.

For now, the two will look to get healthy and develop chemistry with the Wizards’ young core.

“The most important thing for them is the impact off the court. Those two guys have been in the league a while; they understand what it means to be in the community. That’s the most important thing,” former Wizards guard John Wall told Yahoo Sports. “The basketball part, we already know how special those guys are.”

Washington is currently in a competitive race to the bottom as the NBA combats a tanking epidemic, as many teams intentionally filed uncompetitive lineups to help their draft status.

Entering Wednesday’s game, the league’s 10 worst teams had combined to lose 40 consecutive games. That trend won’t survive through Thursday night. The Wizards — who hold the fourth-worst record in the league — will face the Jazz, another team in the bottom five of the standings, at home on Thursday.