No trade clause would have been great too lol

Always a great sign for a deal when the biggest defenders cant say more than “Well who else is a team like the Wizards supposed to spend their $$ on!”

oh MacMahon seems to say Rich Paul was trying to get AD to Toronto or Atlanta with an extension promise in place, but got blindsided getting sent to Washington

Something about framing it as “great agenting” instead of “terrible GMing” makes me laugh.

I hope he proves everyone wrong and takes the wizards to the playoffs

Eh, Wizards need their roster to develop and need the money to go somewhere. It’s a terrible contract if your goal was contending in 2-3 years. Wizards still gotta test out what they have.

He wasn’t going to the wizards without this agreement in place. Idk why anyone is surprised. The Wizards have to spend money somewhere, and AD is gone by the trade deadline.

Trae Young is somehow crazy underrated now. He’s still a ²⁵⁄₁₀ guy, just spent a year injured

I don’t understand why idiots don’t understand the value of an actual PG to a young rebuilding team. In a league deprived of actual playmaking pgs there is value in having one of those guys on the team to develop your actual future stars.

This is exactly what a team like the pre KD rockets actually needed.

Fox somewhere smiling.

Wow, Windhorst is rarely bluntly critical. He’s cooking with gas here.

Windy’s a reporter not a GM, why people would care about his roster building opinions

Didn’t they get him in a salary dump?

I like Windy, but come on man, let’s give Trae Young a chance to prove he is worth that contract.

Jalen Brown had the same issue when he signed the highest NBA contract at the time back in 2023. He proceeded to win Finals MVP and the title for Boston the following season.

Windhorst’s eyes were redder than the Heat jersey lol.

Bobby Marks did add an interesting counterpoint there though. Young, like Fox for Spurs. is there to help the young talented team, and his contract hopefully becomes a tradable expiring when Dybantsa’s extension is due.

Who signs a player hoping to trade that contract,

I don’t think it’s that bad given the Wizards’ timeline and the potential upside.

It’s an overpayment, don’t get me wrong… but it’s not even the worst contract in the league currently. If AD can stay on the court, this team with AJ is a play in team, and maybe a sneaky 6 seed in the East. By the time the contract runs out, the Wizards should be ready for their real run. Trae is a better player than he gets credit for. He’s also a well liked veteran with legit high level playoff experience.

Windy is just being histrionic for clicks.

☝️🤓👆

I don’t think it’s terrible but I could be an idiot. In a few years maybe but at the moment. You have Trae, and you have AD. Along with young talent. They could totally make the playoffs for the next few years. That makes it worth it in my opinion. Franchise success is important to attract free agents and to make people happy to be drafted there.

Here come the “well actually who else were they going to spend it on 🤓”

Err how about nobody and retain flexibility while you build around the supposed franchise player you’re about to draft??

Remember, Alex Sarr, this is what you wanted

I think the deal is in overpay, but with the new cba we have to pay someone. Without a point guard this team fails, and there’s no other good option. Finally, the new lottery odds encourage you to be mid, I don’t really know what the alternative is here, don’t sign and watch bub carrington run the offense? It’s not only bad for winning, but also player development. Not to mention the roster in theory is suited for Trae, idk, it’s not a great number but I don’t think it really matters in the end of the day, now if we extend AD I will be unhappy.

This is a fireable offense. Usually owners shouldn’t get involved but Ted should have blocked this deal. I think the only way this deal would have been salvageable is if it was a team option instead of a player option. Because then you can say they overpaid for a short period of time.

Wizards always seem to pay up then expect them to show up after getting paid.

I think Trae actually has the personality to show up and not mail it in.

It’s not the worst contract in the sense that he’s not a net negative like Beal.

My concern is how speculative the fit is. In theory it makes sense to have Trae creating opportunities for Sarr, George and Tre Johnson (I think I’m out on Coulibaly) but have we seen Trae actually be a floor raiser recently? Atlanta clearly didn’t think he could be that.

If it doesn’t work out, with this deal you’re really kinda stuck.

The worst part that nobody is talking about is how the #1 pick will need a ramp to adjust to the NBA and the role of leading a team only to be sidelined by the 50M “floor raiser” who can’t function without the ball in his hands.

People aren’t talking about about how the Wizards President of basketball operations is the dude who drafted Trae 

LeBron called Windhorst a weirdo and he’s been out for blood ever since 😂

Booker’s max extension looks nearly as bad. Luckily it’s a shorter time frame. 

Is the idea to overpay so your new star has a competent pg for his first few years of development? I kinda understand that part. Just seems crazy for it to be 4 years.

That’s a lot of money for a guy who wasn’t healthy last year and had his team give up on him long term

What is with everyone with a podcast saying “instantaneously” instead of “instantly” lately? Over the last year or so it seems like everyone wants the extra syllables.

I’m gonna zag and say the contract is fine. I’m not a big Trae guy due to his lack of defensive effort and ability, but he’s amazing on offense. He will be 27 at the start of this season so it’s not like the Wiz paid someone a bag in their mid 30s. Also I like that the team has a solid point guard as they try to build up from the bottom of the league.

I doubt he is on the team when and if the team is able to make it past the first round of the playoffs. I could be wrong though, let’s see how good of a guy we get with the first pick.

Well Trae giveth 30 a game AND taketh 30 a game from player he is guarding

Fuck Trae young!

How when he hasn’t played a single minute on the new contract yet.

Someone need to max ja to top this

how do we ban posting hot take clickbait garbage

They just need to surround him with rim running bigs and 3&D wings. It’s so simple and he’s the only player that can succeed with a roster built like that

I feel like that’s an overreaction. It’s not a good contract and it’s definitely an overpay, but if he’s back to 24-25 form it’ll be fine. Especially when you consider it’s a four year deal, if he is legitimately unplayable at some point during this contract I’d be surprised.

With the new lottery rules Wizards and Trae were in a weird spot:

On the one hand, Trae is not good enough to be 1st or 2nd option on a true contender.

On the other hand, he is definitely good enough to be a tank commander for a team that would make play-ins or just miss them, which is the best spot for a rebuilding team to be in now.

So with that in mind, I think a rebuilding team would have still tried to get him with a 40M contract: yes, a clear overpay if you are trying to contend, but still good value if the goal is to be just below mediocre.

That’s also the reason Nets went for Randle: he is good enough to be a tank commander and get them to 30 wins, which should keep them away from the bottom-3 seed, which is the most dangerous area for a rebuilding team now.

I don’t think Windhorst understands this part of player value post lottery-change at all.

Trade him 1 for 1 for fox. At least trae can pass.

Seems like the most reasonable deal would be to trade Fox and get him to the Spurs right?

That would create quite the rivalry for years between NY and San Antonio.

Prove them wrong ice trae

Why ? Why in gods name would the wizards do this ? They were in a great position really build this team up over the next few years. I don’t understand.