Trae Young isn’t pretending the defense is going to magically disappear.
As he settles into life with the Washington Wizards after arriving in D.C. this past January in an Atlanta Hawks-initiated midseason dumping, Young is making the same point in different ways: he knows what people see, and he knows what he has to prove. The offense, with his scoring gravity and precise passing, should still travel. The defense is the part that keeps getting dragged into the conversation.
That concern has followed him for years, back to the Hawks lineups that often had to survive despite his limitations on that end. At 6'2 and under 170 pounds, with a history of uneven effort, Young has long been an easy target for opposing offenses. He acknowledged that reality in the spring and promised not to keep putting his teammates in that spot.
Trae Young: "You could look at me as the weak link defensively, but I'm gonna make sure that's not as loud as it's been [next season]."
Now he’s saying the same thing in Washington, only with a little more perspective on where he fits. During preseason camp media availability, Young leaned into the self-aware angle and admitted he may still be the smallest player in the rotation. He also pointed out that the Wizards have enough help around him to cover for what he gives up.
“I’m probably gonna be the weak link on our team defensively, but I can still give a lot of effort.”
That honesty matters because Young has never been asked to be a stopper in the traditional sense. His role has usually been tied to carrying the ball, creating the shot quality, and staying out of the way of bigger perimeter threats. That’s part of why the criticism has stuck: when your value is built so heavily on one end, the other end becomes impossible to ignore.
Young knows that too. "I'm one of the guys that stands out as not being one of the 6'6, 6'7, 6'9 guys, but I'm still able to play in this league because I do something special that a lot of guys can't on the other end."
Washington’s roster construction gives him a real chance to make that tradeoff work. Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, Justin Champagnie and, theoretically, AJ Dybantsa give the Wizards rangier wings who can help keep the perimeter in order. On the other side of the ball, Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr add more options, which should make it easier for Young not to feel like he has to carry every possession himself.
The Wizards also seem willing to let the ball move around more. During Media Day, the organization didn’t appear interested in chasing a backup point guard solution, and the team is reportedly exploring a slight dip in Young’s usage rate below 30%. That opens the door for him to stay in the role that suits him best - entry feeder, pick-and-roll engine, high-feel creator - while other players get more chances to handle the ball.
That approach fits the message coming from the building. Washington was last season’s bottom-ranked team in defensive rating, and the tone around preseason has been clear: buy-in has to come from everywhere.
Head coach Brian Keefe put it plainly: "Defense is going to be the No. 1 thing... it's going to be a major focus for us. And then offensively, we're going to have multiple playmakers."
Young doesn’t need to become Chris Paul or Gary Payton to make this work. He just needs to keep the defensive spotlight from becoming the story, while helping a more talented roster do the rest.
In Other News...
Wizards Still Lurking In A Major Jalen Duren Opportunity
The market around Jalen Duren has turned into one of the more intriguing front-office watch items of the offseason, and Washington is among the teams keeping tabs. Duren has not been in communication with Pistons president Trajan Langdon for several months, and he has already turned down Detroits five-year, $200 million offer, setting up a situation that has drawn interest from multiple teams looking for a possible path in.
For the Wizards, the appeal is obvious: a young big man with upside would fit their broader timeline if Detroit ever became willing to engage. But the Pistons have so far shut down sign-and-trade ideas and continue to act as though they want to keep Duren, which leaves Washington in the same holding pattern as the rest of the interested suitors while the situation stays unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Are Betting Deandre Ayton Can Finally Accept A Different Role
Washington took a swing on Deandre Ayton, sending out Jaden Hardy and two second-round picks to bring in the former No. 1 overall pick, and the fit says as much about the franchises patience as it does about Aytons next chapter. On paper, he is being slotted behind Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr as a backup big man, a sharp change for a player who has spent much of his career under the microscope as a top-end talent with top-end expectations.
Now the Wizards are betting the role shift can finally stick, even as Ayton arrives with the added pressure of playing for his next contract. The question in Washington is not whether he can still produce when called upon, but whether he can embrace a lesser lane on a rebuilding roster and make it work long enough to matter for both sides. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Davis Could Shape How Fast The Wizards Grow Up
Anthony Davis has become one of the more intriguing voices in the Wizards rebuild, not just because of what he can still do on the floor, but because of what he knows about arriving with sky-high expectations. As a former top draft pick himself, Davis understands the pressure young players face, and he has taken a close interest in the way rookies approach the grind of getting better. That perspective matters in Washington, where the next wave of talent is expected to play a major part in how quickly the roster matures.
One of the names Davis has kept in that conversation is AJ Dybantsa, whom he has spent time mentoring and who is expected to have a meaningful role alongside the Wizards other recent first-round picks. Davis has also pointed to the similarities between Dybantsa and Cooper Flagg, especially in the way both players embrace learning and improvement. For a team trying to turn raw talent into something more dependable, those kinds of examples can matter as much as any box score. [Read more 🡒]