The Washington Wizards had the first pick in the NBA Draft and apparently that wasn’t enough attention for one morning. On Monday, the team agreed to a four-year, $212 million contract extension with guard Trae Young, according to ESPN. The deal runs through the 2029-30 season and comes after Young opted out of the final year of his previous contract, which was worth $48.9 million. His new average annual salary clocks in at $53 million.
Social media reacted the way you’d expect. Which is to say, not kindly.
“Who was Washington bidding against…?” one user posted.
Another wrote: “Confused why his trade value was so low yet he’s back to being one of the highest paid players in basketball six months later. But hey I’m glad to see the Wizards are keeping him.”
The skepticism wasn’t exactly subtle. One comment called it “absolutely horrendous.” Another fan tweeted: “Maybe those new lottery rules were a good idea lmao these bad teams deserve to stay bad.”
The deal by the numbers
According to contract figures shared by Keith Smith, Young’s annual salary breaks down like this: $47.3 million in 2026-27, $51.1 million the following year, $54.9 million in 2028-29, and a player option for $58.7 million in 2029-30. That’s about $9.7 million less than the maximum he could have gotten on a four-year deal, but still a massive number for a guard who just joined the team midseason.
The Wizards acquired Young from the Atlanta Hawks in January 2026, about a month before the trade deadline. He played just five games for Washington, averaging 15.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 20.8 minutes per night. Not exactly the kind of sample size that screams “max extension.”
Still, the Wizards are betting on a future lineup that could include Young, Anthony Davis, Kyshawn George, and projected No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa. That’s a lot of star power. It’s also a lot of money tied up in one guard who hasn’t fully proven he can carry a team to contention.
One analyst ranked Young as the 13th best point guard in the league back in March. Another called the contract “worse than the De’Aaron Fox deal.” The consensus seems to be that Washington overpaid, and the jokes are writing themselves.
Sam Quinn summed it up pretty cleanly: “I bet the Wizards start reasonably hot next year and their fans dig this tweet back up, but in the long run, that deal is just a significant overpay. I would’ve let him walk.”
For now, the Wizards are all-in on Young. Whether that ends up looking smart or disastrous is a question that won’t be answered for at least a few seasons. But the internet has already made up its mind.
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