Washington Wizards general manager Will Dawkins plans to play Trae Young at some point late in the season to see how he fits with the team’s current core as part of their plans to sell their long-term project on the four-time NBA All-Star.
They have ruled out Young through at least the NBA All-Star Weekend, which is around the second week of February, as the Washington Wizards star is recovering from the leg injuries that limited him to only 10 games so far this 2025-26 campaign.
“We’re happy to have Trae on the team. He brings a youthful energy that mixes with our young guys. He’s obviously been through battle-tested playoff games and things of that nature. So he’s here to kind of come in and bring experience. But I think seeing him around the young guys, you see his passion for the game is still there,” Dawkins told Mark Medina of Essentially Sports.
“We’d like to see him with our young guys. I think that’s important. He’s got the power of choice as a free agent. So you want to make sure that he’s comfortable playing with the young guys and see when they move and how they fit positionally. We have a lot of questions on our team and how we play moving forward. So you want to see that before you make that decision in July,” he continued.
Washington Wizards News: Will Dawkins praises rookie standout for surpassing expectations this season
During the same interview, Washington Wizards general manager Will Dawkins heaped praise on Tre Johnson’s development this season, as the sixth overall pick from last summer’s draft is turning into one of the team’s most reliable bucket-getters.
“Impressive. When he’s approaching 50-40-90 as a rookie, you probably didn’t expect that to happen, especially for someone who has been on a minutes restriction all season because he had an injury coming out of college and re-injured it during Summer League. So we’ve been very cautious. But his mindset is that of a pro already,” Dawkins said of Johnson.
“He came in with pro habits and pro tendencies with his work ethic. He’s really bought into being a team player and being more of a facilitator than he showed in Texas,” he added. “So we’re very happy with his progress. But I think the second half of the season, post All-Star break, you’ll really see him take a big step as he gets more used to the speed of the game and with how people are guarding him.”
