‘It Did Make Me Sad’: New Washington Wizards Star Trae Young Opens Up About Atlanta Hawks Not Offering Him Extension
During an interview with NBA reporter Marc J. Spears of Andscape, new Washington Wizards star Trae Young opened up about the Atlanta Hawks not offering him a contract extension.
Young, who was traded by the Hawks to the Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, said he was “sad” the Hawks didn’t present him an extension.
“It was more disappointing, but that’s part of it,” Trae Young said. “It didn’t make me mad. It did make me sad. It was more disappointing. You wish it could have worked out and stuff, but that’s life. Maybe that not working out could be the blessing in disguise.”
Young is making $45.9 million this season. The Oklahoma product can become an unrestricted free agent next offseason by declining his 2026-27 player option worth $48.9 million.
Extension talks between Young and the Hawks never progressed and Atlanta gathered intel about Young’s marketplace dating back to this past offseason.
A four-time All-Star, Young is averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists per game this season. The Hawks were only 2-8 with him in the lineup.
The 27-year-old Young has career averages of 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game. He doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, but the Hawks wanted to send him somewhere he wanted to be.
Washington is 26th in the NBA in attendance. Young is one of the most thrilling players to watch in the league, so the Wizards could see an increase in attendance with the talented scorer and passer in the fold.
Young led Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, a series the Milwaukee Bucks won. The Hawks haven’t won a playoff series since then.
Meanwhile, the Wizards haven’t been to the playoffs since 2021. They are in deep rebuild mode, but that rebuild has now been accelerated a bit after acquiring Young.
“That’s the thing. I’m obviously always where my feet are, especially now,” Trae Young said. “My feet are all here right now. I obviously have a player option this summer. I just want to enjoy the city. Right now, who knows what that would be? It’s a good chance. You never know if I’ll be here or not.
“But for me, I like the people around here, obviously. Really, really like the people around here from front office, all those guys being from OKC and the people I just met around here. But I want to figure out more about the city and stuff like that before I even want to get thinking about that. I want to just be around my teammates and all that stuff before an extension.”
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