The Washington Wizards kicked off the trading season by acquiring one of the NBA's most lethal offensive generators in Trae Young. Fans shouldn't get it twisted, though. The Wizards didn't acquire Young to compete this season, but to make sure they have to build the best team for next season, which is quite similar to what the Utah Jazz are doing now.
That may sound odd at first, but when factoring the Wizards' motive in acquiring Young, it actually makes more sense given the context. The Athletic's writing staff provided more details about Washington's plans.
"The Wizards owe a top-eight protected pick in the 2026 draft to the New York Knicks. For years, the Wizards have obsessed over keeping their first-round pick, which is no guarantee. Because of that obligation, and because the 2026 draft appears to be loaded with high-level prospects, the Wizards have an incentive to lose enough to keep the ’26 first, which Washington will do as long as it finishes with one of the four worst records in the league at the end of the season," they wrote.
They are in a similar predicament to the Jazz now with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are not a playoff team, and because they are in danger of forking over a pick to a playoff team, they want to stay bad enough to keep it for themselves. That same piece from The Athletic confirmed that Young likely won't play much for the Wizards, if at all.
"The Wizards’ desire isn’t for Young to help them this season. It’s to contribute starting in 2026, assuming he’s still around, which is the most likely scenario."
So, even though they have their Lauri Markkanen-esque star in Young, their plan is still to build the right youth around them too. While The Athletic didn't confirm this, there are other Jazz-like strategies that the Wizards are implementing from this move.
They also want to spend in free agency
While the Wizards just acquired a large contract with Young, their cap room is pretty open at the moment. Getting rid of Corey Kispert took away their most expensive long-term deal. If Young opts in, that's a big contract, but it would be the only deal worth more than $12.4 million, just like how Markkanen's deal is the only long-term one on the Jazz.
Like Utah, Washington is putting itself in a prime position to add a big-time free agent in addition to the lottery pick they are hoping to get when this season is over. Having a proven star like Young on the roster combined with all of that should give the Wizards their first glimmer of hope since the John Wall era.
It's not guaranteed to work, but it is a pretty foolproof plan. It is basically the best one they could do to evolve from being one of the NBA's bottom dwellers. In a CBA that's constructed to prevent teams from staying the way they are, rebuilding teams like the Jazz and Wizards are ahead of the curve in how to build a winner the right way.