#trae-young

#trae-young

BY THE TIME the giant bag of ketchup and In-N-Out special sauce was put on the table outside the Washington Wizards' locker room on Jan. 14, it was ripped and falling apart. Only a gigantic group order of burgers and fries could've necessitated such a haul of condiments. And on this night, only one player for the Wizards had reason or compulsion to place such a massive order.

Trae Young initially wanted Brooklyn. The Nets definitely didn't want him. Atlanta ended up trading Young to Washington on Wednesday, but the fact the Nets had been an attractive destination - reportedly one of two landing spots initially suggested by Young's camp - for a four-time All-Star not only dispelled any notions that stars would avoid Brooklyn in the wake of the Big 3's breakup, but it is also an auspicious sign for Brooklyn's ongoing rebuild.

The Miami Heat played no part in the blockbuster Trae Young trade to the Washington Wizards, but there's no question they can learn a valuable lesson from it. And it's this idea that if they're not decisive with the future of their flawed star, it could lead to an undesirable ending.

CJ McCollum will miss his first game of the season for the Washington Wizards on Wednesday with what the team is calling right quad soreness. Maybe there is nothing more to it than that, but the timing is interesting, considering on Monday, NBA insider Marc Stein reported the team was having conversations with the Hawks about a Trae Young trade. Shortly after Washington said that McCollum would sit, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Young's top trade destination is the Wizards.

The 27-year-old is in the midst of a down year, currently averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists on just 42% shooting and 31% from 3-point range. He's also dealt with injuries for most of this season- appearing in just 10 games so far. The drop in his statistical numbers could be impacted by injury or Young's desire to be traded after failing to reach a contract extension with Atlanta. It could even be a little bit of both.

Coach Darko also announced that the Austrian centre has been cleared for contact, meaning he is ready for practice, and now it's just a matter of getting his conditioning back into game shape. With how cautious Rajakovic has been with dealing with RJ Barrett's return, it's almost a certainty that Poeltl would most likely be on a minutes restriction when we see his return to NBA competition.