Grading Trae Young's huge $212M contract to return to the Wizards
Article excerpt
The Wizards are taking a gamble on a big contract for Trae Young.
Trae Young intends to sign a four-year deal worth approximately $212 million to stay with the Washington Wizards, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday. The deal includes a player option on the fourth year.
This comes after it was reported last week Young would decline the $49 million option on the 2026-27 season from his previous deal with the Wizards, who acquired Young from the Atlanta Hawks in January.
Though Young could have received max interest on the open market, his return to Washington was expected after they took a swing on him while his value was lowest. He rewarded their interest and intention to build around him by accepting a deal for less than the max Washington could have offered.
Did Washington overpay for Trae Young?
Washington believed Young was going to command max-salary offers from other teams, according to The Athletic's Josh Robbins. So, they gave Young the same max salary other teams could have offered. That's a four-year deal with five percent year-over-year raises.
Considering Washington holds Young's Bird rights, meaning they could have offered him a five-year deal with eight percent annual raises, they did save some money on this deal.
At the same time, paying an average of $53 million annually for someone who might've been the worst defensive player in the league and whose value had never been lower when the Wizards traded CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert for him feels like a lot. It'll almost certainly be considered an overpay if Young can't find his All-NBA form of 2021-22.
However, for a young Washington team with the No. 1 pick in Tuesday's draft, it's probably worth the risk of giving Young a chance. He'll only be 28 years old when the new season starts and he gives the Wizards a veteran point guard capable of creating his own offense and open shots for other players, as the league's assists leader in three of the last five seasons. At the very least, he raises Washington's floor from the relegation zone of the new draft lottery system as the team works to determine which young players will be part of their core going forward.
GRADE: B
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Trae Young to re-sign with Wizards on 4-year, $212M deal: Grades