In defense of the Trae Young trade for the Wizards, who bought low on an offensive engine

Washington used a series of moves to turn Bradley Beal's contract into a buy-low chance on Trae Young

If you hate the Trae Young trade for the Washington Wizards, I get it. Young is an awful defender, he's shot the ball terribly this season and the Atlanta Hawks decided they were better without him. The young Wizards have been better lately, too, and Young, a four-time All-Star, is not the kind of player who will seamlessly slide into their offensive system. He is the system, essentially. You don't trade for him unless you're willing to give him the ball and let him go to work.

Given how the Wizards are constructed, though, and what they gave up to get him, this is not a reckless decision. It's not as if they sent Atlanta multiple first-round picks in a desperate attempt to accelerate their rebuild. In fact, there were no picks involved at all. And since they don't have a primary playmaker on their roster, Young is not exactly getting in anybody's way.

The main argument in favor of this deal is straightforward: For the vast majority of his career, Young has been an efficient offense unto himself. His presence will naturally slot Washington's young players into more suitable roles. He led the league in assists last season, and the Wizards, who rank No. 27 on offense, can benefit from someone creating high-quality looks. As soon as he gets on the court, he'll draw more defensive attention than anybody else on the roster. 

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Opponents will blitz Young's pick-and-rolls with Alex Sarr, and he'll find Sarr in the pocket, where the 20-year-old big man is getting more and more dangerous. He'll find Bilal Coulibaly cutting to the rim and allow Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson to attack with an advantage rather than having to initiate against a set defense. Above all, he will give Washington structure. The front office is betting on him helping the Wiz kids develop by putting them in a healthier offensive environment.

If this works as well as it hopes, Washington will look brilliant not just for this move, but the ones that led to it. In the summer of 2023, after acquiring Chris Paul in the Bradley Beal trade, the Wizards sent Paul to the Golden State Warriors in a deal that returned Jordan Poole. Last offseason, they swapped Poole for CJ McCollum. On Wednesday, they turned McCollum's expiring contract into Young. No one could have predicted this series of transactions when the first one went down.

Washington is counting on Young returning to form as a shooter. He has shot just 12 for 46 (26.1%) on pull-up 3s this season, a small sample that would be less concerning if he hadn't shot just 33.6% on pull-up 3s last season. Ideally, he'll be motivated to show he can be the type of leader this team needs, too, after seeing his value dwindle to the point that the Hawks more or less gave him away.

This is not to say that the Wizards got him for free. McCollum has been flat-out better than Young this season, and Corey Kispert is a useful role player on a relatively cheap, long-term contract. It is rare to get an offensive engine at anything close to this price, though, and, as long as they don't sign Young to an extension right away, there's little downside here. Washington is only committed to him through next season, assuming he picks up his $49 million player option. If this experiment doesn't work, they can move on quickly, whether that means trading him or letting him walk. They will still have plenty of cap flexibility this coming summer, and the absence of Kispert means more minutes for their young wings.

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I have nothing nice to say about what this move means for the Wizards' No. 29-ranked defense, except that getting even worse on that end should ensure that they keep their top-eight-protected first-round pick. But while small, defensively deficient guards are not en vogue right now, that doesn't mean there's no place for players like Young anymore. He may have worn out his welcome in Atlanta, but for Washington, a team without an organizing principle, he might be a breath of fresh air. And while you don't have to love that the Wizards have bought in on the Young experience, you must admit they bought low.