The Portland Trail Blazers were able to steal rising star Deni Avdija away from the Washington Wizards because they were initiating a full-on roster teardown. Now the Wizards want to take their roster in the other direction by potentially trading for a 27-year-old star in Trae Young?
NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported that the Wizards have emerged as a potential trade destination for Young (subscription required). The Hawks and Young are working together to find a deal that gets him out of Atlanta before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, but that's easier said than done. He's owed $46 million this season and has a massive $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
It's particularly challenging to move a contract of that size midseason, as teams have much less roster flexibility to make the salaries match. They would absolutely be getting bailed out by the Wizards, who have CJ McCollum's expiring $30.7 million salary to add in the package.
Stein adds that it remains to be seen if draft capital would have to be attached to incentivize Washington to take on Young. But given their rebuilding timeline, it wouldn't make sense for the Wizards to take on this polarizing star unless future assets were included.
Wizards traded Deni Avdija to tear down their roster, so why Trae Young?
The damage from the Deni Avdija deal has already been done, and at this point, their best path to contention lies in patiently seeing through their rebuild. They traded Avdija to increase their lottery odds and add draft prospects as building blocks for their young core. With a 9-25 record and headliners such as Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, and AJ Dybantsa set to enter the 2026 NBA Draft, why not stay the course?
Washington does need more playmaking, and you could argue that their existing young core would benefit from Young's table setting as someone who is consistently among the league leaders in assists. But their young core isn't at the point where they are ready to accelerate their rebuilding timeline. Portland made a win-now trade for Jrue Holiday in part because their young core proved last season that they were too talented to bottom out. That couldn't be further from the case in Washington.
No matter what the Wizards ultimately decide to do, the Blazers should be thanking them for their franchise-altering blunder. Avdija is just 25 years old and still fits the Wizards' rebuilding timeline, making the decision to move on from him all the more puzzling. He also showed flashes of star potential through his continued development, taking significant strides as a shooter.
Hopefully, this is Washington taking on an additional year's salary in exchange for draft capital, as that's the only reason it makes sense to take on such a flawed, offensive-minded star. They already had their two-way star in Avdija, who is younger, on a much better contract, and, at this point, more talented.