LAS VEGAS — Trae Young spent Thursday night in Las Vegas (well, at least the early part of Thursday night) sitting courtside, watching the future of the Wizards, AJ Dybantsa, look special in his debut. How did he react to that?
“I’m ready to play tomorrow,” Young said Friday morning. “I was just seeing that last night. I mean, I’m just ready to play. Excited to be a part of this team.”
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Young signed a four-year, $212.8 million contract extension with the Wizards, locking him in with the team. On Friday morning, the team made it official at a press conference announcing the deal.
That contract raised a lot of eyebrows around the league. Young made $46.4 million last season, and there was no trade market for him at the deadline — Atlanta essentially salary-dumped him to Washington. The expectation around the league was that Young would sign an extension, but at a considerably lower per-year number. His value wasn’t there. Instead, the Wizards gave him a raise.
Young heard all the talk and shrugged it off.
“That ain’t nothing new. I mean, it isn’t the first time all this has gone on…” Young said. “I don’t really care about what other people think. You know what I’m saying? I only care about what the people in this organization think, my teammates think, and how we’re gonna get better and how we’re gonna find ways to win the game. So whatever everyone else has to say, I mean, it’s all irrelevant to me.”
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Will Dawkins, the Wizards’ general manager, talked about how well Young fits this team on and off the court. Dawkins said he wanted to build a team with multiple shot creators and decision makers so that this isn’t the Trae Young show. Dybantsa will get his chances — he was impressive with the ball in his hands in Vegas — and Anthony Davis can serve as the hub of an offense for a stretch. Washington has built a balanced roster of youth and veterans.
“You have a mixture of both, that’s this makes great team,” Young said. “I mean, you can’t have a team full of just older players that can’t run. You can’t have a team with just young players that don’t know the game, been in those experiences. So you have a mixture of both.”
These kinds of press conferences rarely yield real insights or news, but one thing that was clear from this event is that Young is excited to be in Washington and with this team.
“Will (Dawkins, Wizards GM) said it, that’s the reason why you got to have guys like me and AD, because those young guys have shown that they’re ready to make that next step,” Young said. “And I’m just I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
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