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Marc J. Spears: Wizards star Trae Young plans to decline his $48.97 million player option for the 2026–27 season to become a FA on Monday, sources. Washington remains the front runner for the four-time NBA All-Star as he loves the team and DC, but he still expects multiple team max interest.
When the Washington Wizards acquired Trae Young for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, they effectively did their free agency shopping early, viewing Young as the most valuable free agent on the market, HoopsHype has learned. Young is excited for a fresh start with the Wizards and to begin the prime of his career in Washington. According to a league source who spoke with HoopsHype, Young hopes to remain a Wizard for a long time. While Young has a $48.97 million player option for the 2026-27 season, the four-time All-Star and the Wizards can come together on a new deal, which is the ultimate expectation within league circles.
In his latest NBA Insider update for Bleacher Report, Jake Fischer revealed that the star guard is now generating a lot of interest out of the teams' desire to improve in the regular season and the high probability that tanking will fail out of the new NBA lottery system. "There is now some renewed interest in Trae Young, compared to where things were in February, where there’s not much interest," Fischer said.
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"The overwhelming expectations still remains that Trae Young is going to remain in Washington. I’ve been told that he really relished the warm welcome he received there post-trade deadline, Fischer said. " ... I do think he’s got a lot of enthusiasm for what the Wizards could do next season with the No. 1 pick, with Anthony Davis healthy, with Alex Sarr recovering well from offseason surgery. "We’ll see what actually comes to fruition in Washington, but I have been told to consider Trae Young as someone who is very much on the trade market right now, at least a name that other teams are looking at the trade market as of now."
Young, by all accounts, relished the warm welcome he received from the Wizards and their fans and was initially projected to land an extension in the $40 million range annually from his new team. There is an anticipation now, though, that external interest from teams in need of an offensive (and specifically playmaking) boost could well surface and ignite Young's market depending on how things shake out with the draft and its corresponding trade activity.
I've been told by various sources that — in addition to the LA Clippers' Kawhi Leonard and Memphis' Ja Morant — Wizards point guard Trae Young has emerged as another "big fish" backup option for the Miami Heat in the event that Boston, Portland or some other team manages to outbid Pat Riley and Co. in the trade chase for Antetokounmpo.
Kaysuane has put together two murals during the Knicks’ spectacular run through the playoffs. The latest is located in New York Midtown, between 30th Street and 31st Street and 8th Avenue, depicting Jalen Brunson as the “King of the East,” with NBA guards Trae Young, Tyrese Maxey and James Harden bowing to the throne. Next to the image is a Larry O’Brien championship trophy with the Knicks logo drawn over it. A Game 3 loss in the NBA Finals hasn’t taken the spirit from Kaysuane or the New York City basketball fans. Wednesday night is expected to be electric in and around Madison Square Garden, as the Knicks look to return to their winning ways against a San Antonio Spurs team that silenced the crowd on Monday.
Trae Young: "I wouldn't trade any moment that I've had in the NBA back for anything. Being in Atlanta was unbelievable. It's crazy how eight years just went like this."
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Trae Young on his persona as a villain: "You embrace it to an extent when you're on the court, you know what I'm saying? But if someone wants to get with it or get like an interaction out of me and try to be a villain outside of this, it's like I'm not a villain outside of the court, you know what I'm saying? And that's what I hope you get from me."
Trae Young: "I can play multiple ways. A lot of people just see what I've done and me being ball-dominant. I can't wait to show other things. My boy Dejounte Murray, who's with me 24/7, he was my point guard for a lot of years and I was just a shooter. I didn't do nothing but just shoot the ball. So I can't wait to show that. But also, yes, you can win with a smaller guard, of course. It's been done before."
Trae Young on his relationship with Spike Lee: "Spike is as much as everybody says so many things, he's been such a good person to me and my family. He's giving me one of his books, I mean, has a handwritten letter in it that he wrote and gave it to me, I think it was after that series or at the end of that and I mean, just been nice to my pops and everything. So he's just been a great dude and that's the head of New York, you know what I'm saying?"
Trae Young on balancing fatherhood and his NBA career: "When I had him, I started being I started being afraid to fly. So I started being afraid to fly and I was and I play in the NBA, like we fly every day. So it's like, how am I going to play if I can't fly? You know what I'm saying? But it was just more about the fact that I I didn't want to not be here for my kids. And so my dad, I mean, like I said, he's me and him, I don't butt heads with nobody else more on this world than my dad, but some of the best advice I've ever gotten from in this world is from my dad."
