Brian Windhorst couldn’t hide his reaction to the Wizards’ $212 million Trae Young deal

Brian Windhorst didn’t even try to fake it. The ESPN analyst was talking about Trae Young’s massive new contract with the Washington Wizards when he basically buried his face in his hands and admitted what everyone in the room was thinking.

“I think this is instantaneously one of the worst contracts in the league. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I said that — I’m sorry I said it that way,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast.

Young turned down a $49 million player option to sign a four-year, $212 million extension that locks him in as the Wizards’ franchise guy. Washington holds the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, and the plan is clearly to build around the 26-year-old guard. But Windhorst thinks that plan might already be broken.

“I don’t think they could trade this contract unless they attach the number one pick to it,” he said.

The numbers are staggering. Year one of the extension pays Young $49.5 million. By the 2028-29 season, that number climbs to $54.4 million. And his player option for 2029-30? Fifty-six point nine million dollars. For a guard who’s never made an All-NBA team and whose defensive limitations are well documented.

None of this is a surprise, though. When the Wizards traded for Young back in January, the deal came with an understanding. He would opt out. He wouldn’t play the rest of the season. And he’d sign a new contract that would make him their cornerstone. That’s basically why the Hawks were willing to move on from him in the first place — they didn’t want to be the team paying that bill.

Windhorst noted on ESPN’s “Get Up” that Young might take a meeting or two “for appearances sake” before re-signing. But everyone knows how this ends. He’s going to sign with the Wizards on a deal that’s reportedly in the three-year, very large range.

The real question is whether Washington can actually build something around Young while paying him like a top-five player. He’s a brilliant passer and a legit scoring threat. He carried Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. But the Wizards are starting from scratch. Their roster is thin. They own the No. 1 pick but this draft class is widely considered weak at the top.

Tuesday’s NBA Draft will tell us a lot. The Wizards have a chance to add a young piece who could grow alongside Young. But if the contract really is as untradeable as Windhorst thinks, Washington better hope that pick turns into a star. Because they’re not going anywhere if they can’t move the money.