The Washington Wizards are reportedly on track to unveil one of their recent prized acquisitions.
Point guard Trae Young, whom the team acquired Jan. 7 in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, will make his Wizards debut Thursday, March 5 against the Utah Jazz, according to ESPN.
This comes as the Wizards remain well outside of the play-in picture, at 16-43 and 13th in the Eastern Conference. Washington has lost eight consecutive games while dealing with several key injuries.
Young has been sidelined since late December with knee and quadriceps injuries and has played in only 10 games this season. The Wizards acquired Young in exchange for guards CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
Aside from Young, center Anthony Davis, who was acquired in a separate trade with the Dallas Mavericks, has also been out with a left hand ligament injury and still has not suited up for Washington; Davis is reportedly set to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season. The Wizards have also been without center Alex Sarr (right hamstring strain) and forward Cam Whitmore (deep vein thrombosis).
Young, 27, is a four-time All-Star who is averaging 19.3 points, 8.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game this season. Though he remains one of the top distributors in the NBA — Young led the NBA in assists last season with 11.6 per game — his defense has been a significant issue.
Washington is navigating a delicate balance for its first-round draft pick. The selection is Top-8 protected, which means that it will convey to the New York Knicks, if it falls to No. 9 or below. This means that any victories over the final quarter of the season could compromise Washington’s draft positioning; the Wizards currently have the NBA’s fourth-lowest winning percentage (.271).
