Acquiring a floor general was the top priority on the Wizards’. Even so, going after an expensive player with plenty of on-court baggage doesn’t quite align with the vision of a team that, despite its recent friskiness, remains more focused on amassing pingpong balls than Ws.
Timeline concerns have always been overrated. Young’s fit in Washington is murky only because of what he’ll cost to retain, and more importantly, the downstream effect it’ll have on the team’s most critical developmental projects.
The Wizards don’t have to fret their new point guard’s price moving forward as much as other teams. They aren’t on the verge of shelling out any mega extensions (sorry, Bilal Coulibaly) and in cap space this summer.
Young’s impact on the developmental environment is much more complicated. On the one hand, Washington can use someone to tee up looks for everyone else. Young has thrown more assists at the rim since entering the NBA than anyone else, and he trails only Luka Dončić in corner-three dimes during this span, . It’s easy to imagine him developing a lethal chemistry with Alex Sarr.
Washington will nevertheless need him to set more screens and generally play off the ball more than ever if it wants to maximize guys like Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington. All of them can work off another ball-dominant player. George and Johnson, in particular, have also delivered enough flashes to guarantee their own hefty doses of on-ball volume.
Effectively juggling this duality is now head coach Brian Keefe’s most important job. And that’s before even considering how to insulate Young at the defensive end. Sarr, Coulibaly, George and Justin Champagnie give the Wizards plenty of size and utility at the less-glamorous end. Time will tell whether it’s enough to tread water when rolling out a backcourt featuring Young and Johnson.
Young’s next contract, assuming he signs one, will play a huge role in shaping the Wizards’ success or failure here, too. If he declines his player option and re-signs for a lower annual rate, he becomes more valuable to Washington as both a player and asset.
Anyone who’s turned off or imbued with a sense of unease following this deal is well within the boundaries of a rational reaction. Ultimately, this Wizards front office regime deserves the benefit of the doubt for everything they’ve already done.
For the time being, it’s best to treat this move by the Wiz as incidental opportunism rather than an attempt to short-circuit and accelerate the rebuild. Viewed through that lens, it remains risky, but also totally understandable.
