Trae Young Debuts March 5
Trae Young is set to make his Washington Wizards debut on March 5 against the Utah Jazz following his recent acquisition. Young's playmaking and scoring will be closely watched as the Wizards look to change their season trajectory with their new star point guard.
The trade that brought Trae Young to Washington in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert officially ended his nearly eight-year tenure with the Atlanta Hawks. Young leaves Atlanta as the franchise's all-time leader in both assists and three-pointers made. Young's debut comes after a significant layoff, having been sidelined for nearly two months with knee and quad injuries since the January 9th trade. In 10 games with the Hawks this season, he averaged 19.3 points and 8.9 assists, a dip from his 2024-25 campaign where he led the league with 11.6 assists per game. The trade followed a period of discussion about the Hawks' performance with and without their star guard. This season, Atlanta's record was 2-8 in games Young played. Over his entire career with the Hawks, the team won 49% of games when he was not in the lineup, compared to 45% when he played. He joins a Wizards team deep in a rebuild, holding a 16-44 record. Since acquiring Young, the team has gone 6-18, a strategy that helps protect their 2026 first-round draft pick, which is top-8 protected. For his new chapter in Washington, Young will wear number 3, as his usual number 11 is retired in honor of franchise legend Elvin Hayes. The four-time All-Star is in the final guaranteed year of his contract and holds a player option worth approximately $49 million for the 2026-27 season. Reports suggest Young and the Wizards are expected to finalize a three-year contract extension this summer.
