Trae

Young

Having totaled 22 points in his prior four appearances, Cooper recorded his first 20-point game as an NBA player on Monday. The guard was highly efficient, shooting 80 percent from the field and committing no turnovers. Cooper has not been productive enough to merit fantasy consideration, and things will get more challenging with Trae Young expected to make his Wizards’ debut on Thursday. Young will be limited to 17-20 minutes, but one would assume that most of the remaining minutes will go to Bub Carrington (11/5/4/2 with two three-pointers in 28 minutes).

Acquired from the Hawks in early January, Young has been rehabbing knee and quad injuries that he suffered early in the season. While his return to action would push Bub Carrington to the bench, Young will be limited to 17-20 minutes on Thursday. Between the time that he’s missed and Washington’s need to hold onto its first-round pick, which is top-8 protected, it wouldn’t make much sense for Young to play heavy minutes between now and the end of the season.

Young and Sarr were re-evaluated this week, and neither player is particularly close to a return to game action. And in the case of the former, he has yet to make his Wizards’ debut. As a result, fantasy managers are left to stash Young and Sarr in IL slots, while the absences make Bub Carrington and Tristan Vukčević more valuable in fantasy leagues.

Young, who hasn’t made his debut yet for the Wizards since coming to Washington in a trade for CJ McCollum, is set to ramp up on-court activities. The 27-year-old point guard isn’t ready to return quite yet and will be re-evaluated in a week.

Young has no timetable to return, and it’s looking increasingly likely that he doesn’t touch the floor for Washington this season. Anthony Davis has already been shut down, and Washington has no reason to get Young on the court as the team looks for the most favorable position in the 2026 Draft Lottery.

No surprise here, as prior reports pointed to Washington taking a cautious approach with its newly-acquired superstar. With CJ McCollum in Atlanta, Young’s absence will mean more minutes for the likes of Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson in the backcourt.

Robbins claims that “the plan is for [Young] to rehab his ankle in-house” and take his time returning to the court. The Wizards then anticipate Young picking up his $49 million player option for 2026, at which time they will see how well he fits alongside young players like Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George. Slow-playing Young this season makes sense, considering the Wizards’ first-round pick is top-eight-protected. That means that, if the Wizards lose enough games to pick inside the top eight in the 2026 NBA Draft, they will keep their pick, but if they pick outside of the top eight, the New York Knicks will control the rights to the Wizards’ pick.

Rumors had been heating up, and now it’s official. Young will head to Washington after appearing in just 10 games during his eighth season with the Hawks. Young will be reunited with Travis Schlenk, who drafted Trae in 2018 and is now an executive with the Wizards. The Wizards will have the rest of this season and, assuming he opts into his contract for next year, all of next season to decide if they want to keep Young around. It was a low-cost move for Washington, and they added a former All-NBA player that led the NBA in assists last season. If they’re able to add another top pick in the draft this season, the Wizards will have one of the best young cores in the NBA and a star point guard to help facilitate things on offense. Plus, Washington has enough length to make up for Young’s defensive limitations. Trae has been sidelined recently with a quad injury, but that could certainly heal up quickly now that he’s on a new team.

Young’s continued absence should mean another start for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and increased playmaking responsibilities for Jalen Johnson.

With trade rumors swirling, Young has missed the last five games with a right quad contusion. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who should already be rostered in most leagues, will start until Young is cleared to return.