Trae Young Has Signed A $212 Million Deal With The Washington Wizards

Trae Young was the fifth pick of the 2018 NBA Draft and spent nearly a decade with the Atlanta Hawks, producing plenty of memorable moments along the way. But as this past season went along, it became clear the two sides needed to part ways. The Hawks dealt Young to the Washington Wizards in the middle of a game on January 9.

The Wizards have been one of the worst teams in the NBA for the past decade. Yet with the trade for Young and another one for Anthony Davis, plus some promising young players on the roster, it looks like things could be looking up in the nation's capital.

After turning down a player option worth nearly $49 million, Young is sticking with the Wizards for the long haul. The two sides agreed to a four-year, $212 million contract extension.

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From a purely contractual perspective, this feels like an overpay. Young has reached the conference finals one time, and the average annual value of the deal will be $53 million. Young's salary for next season will make him the 17th-highest-paid player in the NBA.

Having Young on the roster should improve the Wizards' record. To be fair, it would be hard to do worse than the 17-65 mark Washington put up last season. However, there are some strategic reasons why this signing makes sense for the team.

For starters, Young is a recognizable player with a propensity for big-time shots. He'll likely be a good draw for a team that hasn't had a popular star to build around for a while.

Beyond that, the NBA has just changed its draft lottery rules. This year is the last time the league will give the three worst teams the best odds at scoring the top pick. From here on out, the three worst teams will have a 5.4% chance of winning the top overall pick, while every other non-playoff team will have an 8.1% chance.

This "3-2-1" system means teams are less incentivized to tank, or to be as bad as possible. Instead, non-playoff contenders only want to be kind of bad. And the Wizards as constructed fit that bill. They should at least be competing for a play-in spot for much of the season. That would put them in a better position to get a top pick and potentially draft a franchise-altering player in a year or two.

The franchise thinks paying a pretty penny for Young is worth that possibility. We'll have to see how things shake out on the court. Even with the high price tag, Young and Davis should bring some excitement to a franchise that desperately needs it.